A Birthday, A Graduation, and A Teenager?! (June 7-17,2011) Yak & Yeti/Artist Pointe

[DisDreamz]

We're back! So it's time to start our trip report.

The CAST:

Me

Mom

Minnie (18)

Jack (13)

Tink (9 turning 10)

Joe

Our trip started off being a Graduation Trip for Minnie's graduation from high school. Then when we were picking our travel dates I realized Tink's birthday was going to occur during the dates. With the girls both having big events on our trip Jack was left out. So I guess we celebrated him being a teenager . I should also mention that we were joined for a few days by my ex-husband, Joe--the kids' dad. He and I are "friendly" (he wants to call us friends, but after 3 years of our new relationship and 16 years before that I'm not at that point still) and it's important to me that he have a good relationship with the kids so sometimes I include him in things when I'd probably prefer not to.

We were originally scheduled to leave June 8 and return June 17. A couple weeks before our travel dates I decided that adding another day wouldn't cost us much more and be worth it.

So our pre-trip plans:

Orlando Vista Hotel (June 7 - June 8)
Reunion Resort - 3 bedroom/2 bathroom condo (June 8 - June 17)
Flying Southwest MCO to LAX leaving 7:25pm/arriving 11:20pm (June 18)

June 7:
Fly LAX to MCO arriving at 10:10pm
Pick up the minivan from Alamo.
Check into the Orlando Vista Hotel

June 8:
EPCOT (9am-9pm)
Breakfast - cereal in the room
Lunch - Tangeriene Cafe
Dinner - 1900 Park Fare (8:05pm)

June 9: (Tink's birthday!)
HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS (9am-10pm)
Breakfast - cereal in the room
Lunch - Sci Fi Dine-In (2:45pm)
Dinner - Chef Mickey (7:35pm)

June 10:
ANIMAL KINGDOM (9am-8pm) and MAGIC KINGDOM (8am-12am)
Half day at each
Breakfast - cereal in the room
Lunch - Yak & Yeti Counter Service
Dinner - Ohana (8:15pm)

June 11:
EPCOT (9am-9pm)
Breakfast - cereal in the room
Lunch - LeCellier (12:45pm)
Dinner - Flying Fish Cafe (7:30pm)

June 12:
HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS (9am-12am)
Star Wars Weekends!
Breakfast - cereal in the room
Lunch - counter service
Dinner - OPEN

June 13:
MAGIC KINGDOM (9am-1am)
Breakfast - Kona Cafe (9:50am)
Lunch - counter service
Dinner - Artist Point (7:50pm)

June 14:
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS ISLANDS OF ADVENTURES (9am-9pm)
Breakfast - cereal in the room
Lunch - Mythos
Dinner - OPEN

June 15:
TYPHOON LAGOON? BLIZZARD BEACH?
Breakfast - cereal in the room
Lunch - OPEN
Dinner - OPEN

June 16:
EPCOT (9am-9pm)
Breakfast - cereal in the room
Lunch - Via Napoli (12:45pm)
Dinner - Jiko (7:30pm)

June 17:
DOWNTOWN DISNEY
Breakfast - 1900 Park Fare (10:05am)
Lunch - Sanaa (2:00pm)
Fly MCO to LAX (leaving at 7:25pm)

 

[DisDreamz]

June 7 - Day 1

Our trip started nice and early Tuesday morning. After packing our bags, Joe picked us up and drove us to the airport for our 12pm flight out of LAX. We made it through security quickly and then found our way to the gate where I parked the kids and then went in search for some food to take on the plane. Mom found a sandwich place right away, but Minnie and I decided to keep searching for something better. We soon discovered a food court with a California Pizza Kitchen and a La Brea Bakery. At first we thought we'd pick up a pizza from CPK, but the sandwiches from the bakery looked too good to pass up so we bought a couple--one to eat now and one to eat later.

Our flight was on time and we boarded quickly. We even got seats together thanks to having A boarding passes (I had checked in exactly 24 hours before our flight in order to guarantee this!!! ). After a small problem with the engine (that's always a fun way to start a flight ) we were soon on our way. The flight was pretty uneventful--including the two stops we had (thankfully we didn't have to de-plane either time and were even able to move to even better seats at the first stop).

We arrived in Orlando at 10:30pm, found our way down to baggage claim where we quickly found our bags. Then we headed to the Alamo rental car counter to pick up our minivan. We picked out a nice blue minivan with lots of cool features (most of which baffled me, including the lack of a key!) and then headed for the hotel. Unfortunately the GPS couldn't find us in the parking garage and when it did find us it had accidentally been reset to drive back to California!!! Sadly we didn't figure this out until we had been driving in circles for over an hour (going through 5 toll rodes including 2 unmanned booths that took a bunch of my money).

We finally arrived at the Orlando Vista Hotel at midnight and checked in. We were given a room on the 7th floor which proved to not be as great as my last visit. Thankfully we were only there for a short time. Before heading to the room though we decided to walk over to the IHOP next door for "dinner."

Most of us had pancakes and eggs.

Obviously Jack had the steak and eggs! It was the biggest steak he'd ever seen and he ate almost every bite. He did not eat the eggs though (or the pancakes that also came with it).

Soon after we headed to bed.

 

[DisDreamz]

June 8 - Day 2

The plan was to wake up bright and early and get to Epcot by rope drop. Unfortunately I entered the wrong time in the alarm clock (8:30 instead of 7:30) and then when it woke me up, I got confused thinking it was earlier than it was and went back to sleep. This meant we didn't get up until 9:30am! We quickly packed up our stuff and checked out of the hotel.

The views from our room.

We didn't make it to the park until 11:30am.

After entering the park we did the one thing you're not supposed to do if you're looking to avoid the crowds--we went in search of food! We chose to have Mexican food and tried to eat at the table service restaurant near Mexico, but it was closed. We didn't realize that there was another table service in the Mexico building, so we resigned ourselves to eating at the counter service--La Cantina San Angel.

Mom and I stood in line to order the food and sent the kids out in search of a table. Unfortunately the outside tables only seated 4 and we were unaware there was seating inside so we had to sit at two different tables.

It was really hot outside and the food wasn't that great. The girls and I all had the carne asade tacos which tasted as horrible as it looked, like undercooked beef jerky.

Mom had the chicken tacos (which she liked alright) and the guacamole (which had a horrible onion aftertaste).

Jack chose not to eat, which was probably a wise decision.

After lunch, we headed for the Mexico pavillion and Tink stopped at the Kidcot to get her Duffy "fan" to color.

We then hopped on our first ride of the day--the Gran Fiesta Tour!

Afterwards we did a little browsing through the "shops."

We left Mexico and headed for Norway stopping for a quick picture.

Unfortunately Mom was having some stomach problems so we left her for on the way. The kids and I jumped on Maelstrom which had a minimal line.

After exiting the ride we walked around the store and of course had to take a picture with the troll!

Mom soon caught back up with us and we were on our way to China!

 

[DisDreamz]

On our way to China!

We left China and headed for Germany, stopping to see the train village!

We found the kidcot stop and then took the requisite picture!

We were then on our way to Italy! In Italy, we were just in time for Sergio the mime's show and guess who got picked to help him?!

After the show, we looked around the rest of the pavillion.

We moved on to the American pavillion (no pictures!) where a cast member from China stamped Tink's bear (why is it that the American pavilion always has cast members from other countries?!). Then we headed towards Japan.

 

[OhMari]

I read lots of complaints about the food at Mexico.
You would think WDW would try to get the best Mexican Food -who knows.

Hope you had a good time.

 

[DisDreamz]

I read lots of complaints about the food at Mexico.
You would think WDW would try to get the best Mexican Food -who knows.

Hope you had a good time.

What I didn't understand was it's really hard to screw up tacos! The guacamole I understand (we live in CA so I've had my share of Mexican food and my kids travel to Mexico every couple months with their dad and his church for mission-type trips--the youngest even has a couple "boyfriends" that give her gifts and ask about her when she doesn't come), it's just using the leftover onions. The supposed carne asada was just odd!

Thanks for reading! We did have a great time, although we want to go back again soon because we missed A LOT of things.

 

[DisDreamz]

Once in Japan we headed straight for the store and the Pick a Pearl. I had promised Tink that she could pick a pearl for one of her birthday presents (and she later got a adorable pearl cage and necklace from Mom to put the pearl in!). We paid the $15 and then waited for her number to be called (fwiw don't be dissuaded by the amount of people standing around--the store was packed, but we only had to wait while 4 other pearls were picked before us).

We had been told that the uglier the oyster the better the pearl. Which oyster is ugliest?!

Tink picked the one she thought was ugliest.

Then Royko from Osaka proceeded with the pearl ceremony. Having Tink count to 3 in Japanese, beating the drum, and finally opening her oyster.

Even though they say a 6-inch pearl is average, we found that 7-inches was more common which is exactly what Tink ended up with.

While there Tink saw a girl pick a "silver" pearl (actually almost a blue color) and she really wanted that kind. I had a feeling we'd be back to pick another pearl soon.

After walking through Japan we decided to hit Test Track and then head to the resort (which had a 4pm check in).

 

[luckylady]

We were in EPCOT om Wed. Also ate at the counter service. DS and I had the nachos which were real good. DD and DH had the tacos and DH didn't care for them either. In the US they make them with ground beef but in Mexcio they don't that's why they looked funny.DD had to ask. Love the pick a pearl hope she has many happy days wearing it.

 

[DisDreamz]

We were in EPCOT om Wed. Also ate at the counter service. DS and I had the nachos which were real good. DD and DH had the tacos and DH didn't care for them either. In the US they make them with ground beef but in Mexcio they don't that's why they looked funny.DD had to ask. Love the pick a pearl hope she has many happy days wearing it.

We were in Epcot Wednesday also! We actually spent a ton of time at Epcot. I think we were there almost every other day.

Anyway my kids have had their fair share of Mexican tacos (the youngest, especially loves getting carne asada tacos from a little taco stand near the border) and the meat was nothing like anything she'd ever had before. I think that's just there way of deterring the complainers!

 

[DisDreamz]

June 8 (cont.)

We made our way back to the parking lot and went out in search of the condo. We found it alright and it was perfect. A very beautiful 3 bedroom 2 bathroom on the 2nd floor overlooking the pool and golf course.

The building location was perfect for us, right outside the resort entrance, but with an amazing view! Buildings across the street had a view of the very busy road.

Oddly enough, with the exception of one night when another family was across the hall from us, we had the building to ourselves our entire stay.

Jack's Room aka the Living Room! The couch had a pull out that Jack and Tink actually fought over sleeping in (Tink did win this night, but most nights Jack won the "prize" of sleeping in the living room).

My bedroom

Master bathroom

The girls room!

Mom's Room

Kids Bathroom

Balcony and Views

After unpacking our things, the kids and I went to pick up Joe from the airport. We then raced back to pick up Mom and then headed to our 1900 Park Fare dinner reservations. While we waited for a table we took pictures in the gorgeous lobby and watched an adorable little girl handing out plastic rings to all the little princesses waiting (such a great idea!).

We were finally seated, took our obligatory picture (which I did NOT buy) and led to a table near the buffet. The food was amazing as usual. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of it, but I remember the amazing mashed potatoes, some delicious chicken, mozzarella tomato salad, and of course the strawberry soup. The only let down was the dessert which was mostly stale cupcakes, brownies, and some decent bread pudding.

Unfortunately the character interaction was not even close to as good as last time. First up was Prince Charming who was as dry as toast.

Then Cinderella:

She looks like she'd prefer Jack to Prince Charming!

Finally the step sisters arrived. Neither one of them were up to their usual antics--at least not with us. Beyond a couple "looks" they weren't that much better than Cinderella! A HUGE disappointment!!!

At this point we were all done eating, but the stepmother hadn't made it to our table. So we waited...and waited...and waited... Finally she arrived and was a bit better than her "daughters." She even asked Jack which of her daughters he was interested in! LOL

We left the restaurant and headed back to the resort. Mom and I then headed to Super Target to pick up supplies for the condo (it isn't stocked with much unfortunately). We came back and Mom put Tink's hair up in rollers then we all went to bed!

 

[DisDreamz]

June 9 - Day 3

I woke up nice and early and hopped in the shower. I then woke Mom up and she preceded with the decorating the living room where Tink was sleeping.

We placed her presents all around her. I think she may have woken up before we were done

We woke up Jack and Minnie and then woke up Tink singing "Happy Birthday."

Tink's big presents had already been given to her before her trip, but this was one of her favorites--a key to the house!

Then it was time for her birthday photo shoot!

We packed into the car and headed for Hollywood Studios, arriving at 11am.

The plan once in the park was to ride Rock N Rollercoaster, unfortunately I'm directionally challenged in that park so can never find the rides I'm looking for. We ended up at The Great Movie Ride.

After a short wait we were led into our vehicle. Sadly the ride didn't start off well. We were asked if we were okay with being split up into a group of 4 and 2. We said that was fine and then they proceeded to be sat in a group of 3 (Joe, Tink, Jack) in the front car and then the rest of us sat alone in various groups in the back. I sat in the vary last row with a rather large man and his son. The ride itself wasn't great either with the monotoned Shaniqua as our guide and she deserted us to an older looking cowgirl who was not a very good actress. Great Movie Ride was never a favorite of ours, but this was beyond horrible!

After the ride (and a brief stop in the Sorcerer Hat shop for a birthday hat picture)

we stopped at Backlot Express for lunch. The place was packed so the adults got in line and we sent the kids out in search of a table. They finally found a table near the beverage bar which was perfect! Of course they had other people complaining about it being such a perfect table. There were quite a few school groups taking up most of the tables, we were in and out quickly though.

Tink's kids chicken tenders and fries (notice the phone, she got phone calls and texts all day long!)

Mom and I had the turkey sandwich and fries. This was actually pretty good, but way too big. Mom and I should have split it!

Jack and Minnie had the adult chicken tenders and fries.

Joe had the hamburger, onions on the side and a salad.

We grabbed fast passes for Star Tours 2 and then grabbed a map and tracked down Rock N Rollercoaster. Mom wandered around while the girls and I went on the ride and Joe and Jack went to the Indiana Jones show.

We got off the ride just in time for our Sci Fi Dine In ADRs. They were way backed up so we had to wait outside (we waited almost an hour for a table!)

We had quite the wait to get a 6-seater car, but it was worth it to have our milkshakes.

A cool shot Mom took (accidentally!)

Tink and I got the front seat.

Jack and Mom sat in the middle while Joe and Minnie got the back!

Jack skipped the milkshakes and went straight for his favorite thing--the chili!

Chocolate shake (both Mom and I ordered one). It wasn't anything special.

Tink ordered the oreo shake which she liked alright (she left more than half of it untouched).

After we were done eating, they brought out a birthday sundae!

We all thought it was funny that our car was from California!

The Sci Fi was okay. The atmosphere was great, but we were shocked how many of the cars and tables were empty (especially given how packed the waiting area was) plus annoyingly the waitress did NOT take my Tables in Wonderland discount off (and didn't say anything about it not being accepted there or anything).

 

[DisDreamz]

After our snack we used our fastpasses for Star Tours. Mom stayed behind because the old version was really jerky. Our first ride had us being stopped by a Storm Trooper looking for the "rebel spy" and then Princess Leia told us to save him which led us to the Wookie planet (I thought they said walking planet--oops) otherwise known as Kashyyyk. It was a lot of fun and we determined that Mom could have easily ridden it (Kashyyyk is REALLY mellow).

After this Tink really wanted to have her picture drawn. A little back story: for Minnie's birthday Joe took her to Disneyland and while there they had a portrait artist draw this amazing portrait of her. Ever since Tink has wanted to get hers done. So that day Joe told her he'd pay to have it done. We wandered upon a characture artist nearby and went ahead and had him draw her. Unfortunately the guy was horrible. The picture actually looked a lot like the guy himself only with long blonde hair! It was so bad that Joe didn't want to pay for it (and I wasn't about to stiff the guy even if he was horrible, so I ended up paying for it and Joe gave me a few dollars for his half). When this was done, Tink decided she wanted to go back to the condo to rest. We went back to the resort, took a short rest, and then got ready for our dinner reservations at Chef Mickey.

We thought it was cool that you drive through the Magic Kingdom parking entrance to get to the Contemporary. Although every time, we thought it'd be an easy way to get free MK parking. Just say you were going to one of the Magic Kingdom resorts and then "accidentally" go towards the TTC!

Normally we eat at Chef Mickey for our first night dinner. This trip though Tink wanted Chef Mickey for her birthday dinner, so that's why we started at 1900 Park Fare. The food at Chef Mickey was not even close to as good as 1900 Park Fare, sadly. The pickings were pretty slim too (no food pictures, as usual).

Waiting for Mickey who was really close by.

Mickey finally showed up! Notice that Joe did NOT wait for Mickey to arrive for his food (I didn't either ).

Goofy!

Pluto!

Minnie! Cute story: the first time Tink came to Chef Mickey was on our 2001 trip. We had a late breakfast reservation which meant the characters gave us a lot of attention. Minnie wanted to hold Tink and she gave Minnie a big baby "kiss" on the nose!

Then:

Now:

Donald!

Then they brought out a cupcake for Tink's birthday.

After dinner, Joe wanted to go see the Magic Kingdom fireworks. The waitress suggested taking the monorail to the Magic Kingdom, however I had heard on the disboards that you could see the fireworks from the beach at the Poly so we did that instead.

Minnie and I decided to walk around the hotel while everyone else hang out on the beach watching Toy Story 3 and building a sand turtle.

The fireworks finally started!

After the fireworks Tink went and hang out in the "hamper" watching the rest of Toy Story!

Jack did his favorite thing hanging out in the hammock!

We finished watching Toy Story and then headed back to the resort. We were all quickly asleep.

 

[DisDreamz]

June 10 - Day 4

Since Joe was only planning on staying one more day, he really wanted to take the kids to one of the water parks. This worked out for me because I really didn't want to go to the water park, but I felt guilty sending them off alone. So we chose this day for them to go. This also meant that we could all sleep in as well! So we all slept in until 10am and then the kids got ready to go.

The night before Mom had found this little frog in the hallway. Jack had left it in the cup on the porch overnight and Tink let it go this morning.

The kids were ready to go. I dropped them off at Blizzard Beach

Not long after I dropped them off, I received a phone call from Joe. Jack's ticket wasn't working because it didn't have the Water Fun & More attached to it! Oh no! We had accidentally switched the tickets and Mom had the ticket with the Fun & More option. Thankfully they were able to switch the tickets without us having to go over there (although this did prove to create small problems throughout the week, it wasn't a huge issue). The kids had a ton of fun at Blizzard Beach. They only took a few pictures, but we're planning on ordering the PhotoPass cd which has more shots.

After getting back, Mom and I headed out to City Walk (we were originally going to go to Epcot, but unfortunately that would have meant going back to Blizzard Beach to get Mom's new ticket). We stopped first to have lunch at Emeril's.

Mom ordered the seared tuna which she enjoyed.

We also shared the bbq shrimp appetizer which was okay.

I had the mushroom pizza which was really rich!

Sadly, Emeril's wasn't quite what we expected. One of my favorite restaurants is Delmonico's in Vegas so I had high hopes, unfortunately Emeril's is more like a poor cousin of Delmonico's (and thankfully is about half the cost!).

After lunch we walked around City Walk a bit (not as much there as City Walk in California though). Then we went to the Premium Outlet Mall where I not only got a couple new pieces of luggage for the kids, but a card reader so we could upload all the pictures I'd taken. We then came home and got ready for dinner at O'Hana.

We arrived at O'Hana just in time for our ADRs and had a short wait. They showed us to a table near the window.

The food begins to arrive!

The salad - this was one of the few things we ordered more of.

Chicken wings and pot stickers! The pot stickers, especially, were delicious and I would have ordered more but I knew that more food was coming.

Lo Mein Noodles and Broccoli

Filet - really good, perfectly cooked. Jack kept ordering more and more.

I didn't take pictures of the shrimp or chicken which were good although not as great as the steak.

Tink went off to play some games including the limbo. As a reward for playing, she was given a lei for all of us!

Of course we had to have a birthday cupcake!

Then the dessert came. It was delicious (bread pudding?!), really moist and the sauce was amazing.

We all loved O'Hana. Even I enjoyed it (I didn't think I would, it's not really my type of food but the food was really good and the atmosphere was amazing!).

We then went outside and caught the end of the fireworks show before coming back to the room and going to bed.

 

[15isto2]

Brillaint report so far, cant wait for more

 

[DisDreamz]

Brillaint report so far, cant wait for more

Thanks! I don't know how some of these people do it so long after the trip. I'm having a hard time remembering everything we did only a week later (and I tried to write mini trip reports every night)!

 

[DisDreamz]

June 11 - Day 5

We managed to get up bright and early today. The kids say goodbye to Joe who was heading to his next destination (a roadtrip to Kentucky). We still struggled getting out the door quickly and and arrived at Epcot a little after rope drop.

A not so hidden Mickey we saw most trips to and from the parks (for some reason the GPS didn't take us the same way every time we went somewhere!).

Jack was obviously still tired!

Tink was wide and awake and ready to get to Epcot!

No pictures of Minnie! She probably took these photos.

Going through the golden arches!

Heading for the handicapped parking!

Finding the handicapped parking was a pain throughout our trip. My mom has problems with walking distances, especially up hills. So even though she doesn't look handicap this can cause us problems sometimes. Anyway quite a few of the parks didn't have much handicapped parking and were usually out of the official spots when we arrived. On this day we were lucky enough to be behind a family who decided to block the whole row while they let out their entire family (including the driver and his scooter!). So inconsiderate!

We quickly parked in Journey

and I noticed the license plate of the person next to us. I'm pretty sure it wasn't THE MeMom, however I had to take a picture and check the boards just in case

We checked with Guest Services to make sure the ticket issue had been resolved and headed through the turnstiles.

A quick photo and then we were heading for a restroom break already!

Don't they look thrilled to be there?

Today I decided we were going to follow a Touring Plan so we headed straight for Test Track leaving Mom behind to browse the stores. The kids decided that Single Rider was a better option which translated into no wait! After that the kids wanted to go on Mission Space, but first we picked up a FastPass for a Kim Possible Mission. Then the kids went on Mission Space: Green while I picked up a water and croissant to tide me over until lunch.

Unbeknownst to me, Minnie had decided not to go on the ride afterall so we had a time trying to locate her when the other two got off the ride. Finally we all met up so we could ride Sum of All Thrills in Innoventions (well Mom, still was just watching). Minnie and I built a jet with a few loops and a bunch of hills, so much fun! Jack and Tink liked theirs too and couldn't wait until next time they could ride. After the ride it was getting closer to our 11am FastPass time for Kim Possible so we headed towards World Showcase. We picked up our kimmunicator in Italy and started our first mission in Japan!

A hidden Mickey!

We finally found the first clue!

We finally found BeeBee!

The kids loved the Kim Possible Mission (especially Tink) and she wanted to tackle another country. She chose Great Britain, but first Jack wanted to Pick a Pearl!

 

[DisDreamz]

This time, Mina was the one to teach us to count to 3 in Japanese and beat the drum. Plus she got Jack to bow!

As predicted, the pearl was 7mm!

We then headed to the United Kingdom.

Hidden Mickey!

We were halfway through the new mission when the World Showcase Players arrived.

We sat down to watch the show and it wasn't long before they were picking audience members to participate. Guess who got picked? Yeah, it wasn't the person that wanted to--it was me! I was the evil queen. The show was funny even if I hate being in front of the crowd. I did get a button for participating though.

It was getting close to our LeCellier reservation time, so we headed towards Canada.

We checked in early and settled in the lobby of the restaurant (after a few pictures)

We had a short wait and then we were shown to a table in the middle of the room. Our waitress was Shanna (though everyone else called her Shawn, which confused me).

Tink had to have the cheddar cheese soup (unfortunately she refused to order the meal that came with a cup of soup so we ended up getting a bowl for everyone to share).

The yummy pretzel bread!

Jack, of course had to order one of the most expensive things on the menu- -the strip steak! He didn't even eat the potatoes. He was happy with his steak though. He said it was the best steak he had our entire trip.

Tink ordered the macaroni with beef. Annoyingly she hardly made a dent in the plate and we couldn't take the leftovers home!

Mom, Minnie, and I all had the filet with mushroom risotto which was delicious as usual (although Mom thought hers was too salty)!

We ordered the creme brulee which was boring. Sadly we were hoping the waitress would bring out a stale cupcake to celebrate Tink's birthday because she didn't want the sundae that came with her dinner. Instead she got this (which I paid for btw)!

We left the restaurant and pulled out the kimmunicator, unfortunately we found out that if you let the kimmunuicator idle too long it shuts itself down. Tink was really disappointed (you wouldn't know it from the picture though!).

We turned the kimmunicator back in and then headed back through World Showcase with the plan that Tink was going to buy herself another pearl (she keeps hoping for the illusive silver pearl that she saw a few people get).

 

[DisDreamz]

June 11 (cont.)

On the way to Japan, we passed a portrait artist and since Minnie had had her portrait done in Disneyland for her birthday,

Tink really wanted it done for hers. So she sat down and the artist started to draw her (I wish I had paid attention to his name, but he was so busy drawing we didn't really talk much). The sun was shining straight on Tink melting her and exposing her sensitive shoulders to the sun (she got 2nd degree burns on her shoulders during a trip to Hawaii with Joe--her shoulders burn really easily now). So we grabbed her one of the parasols to hold during the drawing.

Jack found something to do, but Minnie got a place to sit!

A sneak peak before he finishes.

Now Minnie is getting bored watching and Jack found a seat (and a towel)!

The finished project!

We were so pleased with the finished result that I decided to have Jack's portrait done as well.

While Jack was being drawn, Tink was enjoying the Serveur Amusant act.

Finally he finished Jack's portrait!

As you can see the type of portraits aren't exactly the same. The Disneyland version is on a higher quality, thick (cardboard-like) paper whereas the WDW version is really thin paper that wrinkles really easily. The WDW chalk is also really easy to smear whereas we've touched the DL version and no smudges! Plus the DL version had Minnie's name at the bottom. If I'd remembered this fact I'd have asked the WDW artist to add it to the kids pictures, but I didn't notice it until we got home. Anyway, I'm still planning on having them all framed and hanging them somewhere in the house (for now they are pinned to the wall).

After the portraits were finished I convinced the kids to go on the last few rides in Future World and then head back to the resort to go swimming. So we jumped on Living with the Land, then Nemo, and finally Spaceship Earth before heading out of the park.

[

On the way back to the resort, I was feeling very thirsty and craving a slushie so we made a pretty long detour to a Burger King for Frozen Cokes and ice cream then came home and changed into bathing suits. We then hopped in the car and headed for the resort water park. Upon arriving there we found out that they closed in 30 minutes! This was a huge disappointment. The main reason we chose to stay at the Reunion resort was for the water park feature (I actually thought I'd be able to skip a WDW water park and do this instead, but I'm thankful we didn't end up doing that afterall). Then to find out they closed at 6pm every night (7pm on weekends!) was really a let down.

Unfortunately there wasn't a great place to get water slide pictures. By the time I realized the kid was coming down they were pretty much back in the water already.

The place was deserted though which meant they didn't have to fight any crowds!

Minnie didn't want to swim. So she read her Kindle in the cool of the shade occasionally getting misted by the water splashing down.

Of course Mom had to videotape it!

Jack and Tink still had fun in the water even if they didn't get a ton of time.

 

[DisDreamz]

We came back to the room and got ready for dinner at Flying Fish. We arrived for our reservations a few minutes early and the kids enjoyed a show on the Boardwalk while we waited. We were then led to a table in the back of the room and sat down to order. Our waiter was from France (and had a pretty strong accent, which we couldn't always understand) and really helpful.

We started with the Mozzarella Tomato Salad which was delicious, as usual. Minnie and I both agreed that we could have just ordered this as an entree (which is what I did on my last visit) and be happy!

Then we had the Jonah Crab Cake which was nothing special. Sorry for the picture, I forgot about taking pictures until after we had divided it up amongst us. I believe this was my portion!

Jack ordered the Caesar Salad which was also nothing special. The first time we went out to eat when we got back home, he ordered a caesar salad because he said he had missed eating it.

With the appetizers done, time for some pictures!

Then our main dishes arrived. Tink ordered the kids fish sticks with potatoes and green beans. She LOVED this. She actually still talks about the fish and she wanted to go back to Flying Fish again before our trip ended (unfortunately it never happened). The fish was amazing, really light and the breading was perfect not too heavy or greasy!

Minnie ordered the seared tuna which she said was alright. It looks like it may have been overcooked a little. Plus she determined she does not like bok choy!

Jack actually ordered off the kids menu this night and had the grilled cheese. He was happy enough with it, but how can you ruin grilled cheese really?

Mom and I split the potato wrapped red snapper which was pretty good.

For dessert Minnie and I ordered the trio which was amazing! Unfortunately I can't find anywhere that says exactly what these are. I remember from right to left are pound cake "fries" with a raspberry sauce that was really good. Then the peanut butter chocolate whoopie pie which was heavenly (I could have just ordered this and been happy--unfortunately it doesn't come by itself).

A berry popsicle in a lime sauce. I'm not a popsicle fan so I didn't even try it, but here's Jack's opinion

Finally a caramel corn topped cake (can't remember exactly what it was like). Minnie really liked the caramel corn, but the cake was obviously not memorable.

Tink ordered the chocolate fondue from the kids menu and she was happy with it.

Mom? had the Napoleon. I tried a bite and it was okay (very light, which is perfect after a heavy meal). Although I'm not a banana fan so it might have been better with the banana.

I also had to order the creme brulee because I had remembered liking it last time. It was alright, but nothing special. I think it was the almond bark that I had really liked. If we hadn't been so full this time I might have enjoyed it more.

Jack ordered--nothing. We actually sent him with some money to the candy store nearby and here's what he bought!

A quick photo after dinner was done!

Minnie really wanted to walk around the boardwalk, but everyone else was tired so we went in one store nearby and shopped for awhile.

Then we came back to the room and crashed!

 

[BrooklynnsMommy]

Your title caught my eye and I wondered if you were talking about my mom (MeMom) or if that is what your kids called your mom. Now I know you were talking about my mom. Loved the pictures of your daughter with Minnie when she was a baby and now. I love that your big kids still enjoy going to Disney, I hope my girls still enjoy it years from now.