A Smile in my Heart–Magical Week of Friends,Fun & Freezing-10/28-COMPLETE!

[mom2mek]

Who needs Exposition Hall when you've got Shawn! The pictures are adorable.

I'm almost shivering looking at the cold and wet pictures of Magic Kingdom. Ick. Love the "glass carriage" though, great idea. Sorry about the rude monorail passengers.

Can't wait for 'Ohana - yummmm!

Thanks Michelle! Glad someone posted -was starting to wonder if I had lost everyone again! Yeah, I'm glad to have Shawn around to take pics for me - he actually stops walking to take pictures, unlike yours truly!

They look beautiful, as usual!!

Note to self: buy the $10 rain cover from the stroller company!! I was going to opt out of it, but obviously it came in handy. Also, the girl's hair bonnets were to die for

Glad you had a great time even though the rain came

Thanks Katie! Yes, the $10 rain cover is definitely worth it - ours was free since we were a repeat customer, so keep that in mind that next time you use OSR, you will likely not have to pay for it (that is unless they change that around) I was very grateful to have it.

We did have a great time though...even with all that rain and cold weather - it's still Disney, right??

Sara

 

[anl]

I just love your TR's! Your girls look FABULOUS!

 

[cdotla]

Wonderful photos Shawn was able to get in the room!

That is too bad about all of the rain! But it could have been worse...at least you weren't one of those kids in the marching band. Oh, that really would have been a shame!!!

I can't believe those people all pushed past you for the monorail!!! That is so rude...I really can't believe people would have done that!

Can't wait to hear about your favourite meal of the trip!

 

[mom2mek]

I just love your TR's! Your girls look FABULOUS!

Thanks Amber!

Wonderful photos Shawn was able to get in the room!

That is too bad about all of the rain! But it could have been worse...at least you weren't one of those kids in the marching band. Oh, that really would have been a shame!!!

I can't believe those people all pushed past you for the monorail!!! That is so rude...I really can't believe people would have done that!

Can't wait to hear about your favourite meal of the trip!

Thanks Trish! I felt so bad about those kids in the rain, but I'm sure they made the best of it and had quite the story to tell when they got home!

Ugh - those people that pushed past us were so rude. We just took some nice deep breaths and then brushed it off. No point in letting in fester, right?

Sara

 

[laashley]

Looks like all the rain made for good sleeping weather for the girls!

Sad they missed out on their professional pictures, but good thing you had Shawn there to remedy that.

What is up with people sometimes? I really hate feeling like you have to fight when it shouldn't be that way.

Looking forward to O'hana!

 

[mom2mek]

Looks like all the rain made for good sleeping weather for the girls!

Sad they missed out on their professional pictures, but good thing you had Shawn there to remedy that.

What is up with people sometimes? I really hate feeling like you have to fight when it shouldn't be that way.

Looking forward to O'hana!

Yes, they were oh-so-cozy in their glass carriage covered with a blanket and wearing their little bonnets!! Mom and I were freezing cold in our ponchos sloshing through the park!

I get so frustrated at rude people, and then I try to remind myself that just because I'm at Disney, doesn't make all the jerks magically disappear. Oh, how I wish though.

Sara

 

[vamassey1]

I love the glass carriage! And the bonnets. I remember my grandma wearing those every time she went out in the rain or wind.

I'm so sorry about your wait for the monorail. I'm mad just reading about it. I use to always keep my mouth shut about stuff, but as I get older I find myself saying things I never thought I would say. I know life isn't fair but nothing makes me madder than unfairness. Treat people like you would like to be treated. Whew, rant over.

Shawn's pictures of the girls are lovely. I hope they stayed dolled up for their dinner.

 

[mom2mek]

I love the glass carriage! And the bonnets. I remember my grandma wearing those every time she went out in the rain or wind.

I'm so sorry about your wait for the monorail. I'm mad just reading about it. I use to always keep my mouth shut about stuff, but as I get older I find myself saying things I never thought I would say. I know life isn't fair but nothing makes me madder than unfairness. Treat people like you would like to be treated. Whew, rant over.

Shawn's pictures of the girls are lovely. I hope they stayed dolled up for their dinner.

Sometimes I wish the bonnets would make a comeback - you know, on us younger folks, because they knew what they were doing wearing those things! No worries about umbrellas blowing away or having to hold an umbrella over your hair but use the other hand for everything else. What a pain! I guess I'll settle for a raincoat with a hood in most situations since people might look at me funny wearing the plastic bonnet.

Rude monorail people....ugh....

Update coming right up....

Sara

 

[mom2mek]

Day 6 - February 12, 2010
Magic Kingdom
Chapter 7


So after we were refreshed with rests and showers (for some of us) we made our way to the GCH for our ADR at 'Ohana. We ate here back during our October 2008 trip and fell in love. It was also the trip that made us fall in love with the Poly.

We checked in and didn't wait too long before being called back to be seated. If you recall from the other night, there were a ton of people who had been scheduled for the Luau who, when it was cancelled due to the cold, were getting re-booked at 'Ohana. Well, the same thing was happening tonight. The waiting area was packed once again and the line was filled with people who were all "abuzz" about the cold and rainy weather and how they weren't going to get to do the luau. I was grateful I had decided not to book the luau afterall, as I had really considered it. It turned out to just be way too cold for that all week. I still hope to do it someday though!

In addition to the cancelled luau diners we had quite a few large groups of young girls who were waiting to be seated. One was a dance group, so I'm pretty sure the others were as well. It didn't affect our wait time at all though - we were seated right away and led back to our table - one table over from where we were last time we ate there.

We had a great waitress who came around right away to get our drink orders. Shawn ordered a martini, my parents (I think) both had mojitos, and I ordered up a Captain's Mai Tai! We were ready to kick back and relax!! The wonderful pineapple bread was served immediately and then she brought out the potstickers and wings. She had asked if the kids would want something different than what was on the normal menu. Michael loves meat so he was good with the normal food. Emily and Katie both wanted some chicken fingers and fries and she brought those out fairly quickly. I do believe Katie ate some salad and Emily ate some of the broccolli from the main menu though.

The food at 'Ohana was so great the last time we were here so we were expecting great things again.

I'm happy to say that we were NOT disappointed this time around either! The Polynesian feast was once again superb!

The food was fabulous. I love the dressing they put on the salad, so light and delicious! The potstickers and noodles are my favorite of the sides and I loved the turkey and pork from the meat selections. I enjoy shrimp but they are so messy so I only had a few. I had a few pieces of steak of course, but I'm not a huge steak eater. Shawn and Michael made up for me on that one though. Ok, enough of the food...I'm just gonna post some pictures. We took a lot that night.

Starting off with some bad cell phone pics, but here is Shawn enjoying his drink. Picture may be bad, but you can see the view we had from our table....the castle is right behind him!

Me and one of my princesses:

The wonderful ambiance

MEAT!!!

My boys:

My other sweet princess!

Grandmommy, Katie, and Silvermist (LOL)

About 30 minutes into the meal, they started with some of the entertainment. Surprisingly, all 3 kids were more than willing to join in. As was Shawn.

Emily wasn't "quite" into it yet, but she warmed up!

The "extra" participation was particularly good tonight, due to not only the large amount of children, but the large amount of tweens and early teens dance teams. They were enthusiastic and having a lot of fun.

Shawn grabbed a maracca and got in on some of the action with the kids.

And then he took some time to dance with his daughters:

Continued in next post....​

Sara

 

[mom2mek]

....Continued from previous post....

Before long, she called a few of the young men over to don hula skirts and hold the limbo stick and all the kids (and others....) made their way around the restaurant to see how "low they could go"!!

(I love how Katie leans way back as if she really needs to! LOL)

(Emily doing her "what?" look!)

(there goes Michael)

(Hard to see her, but there goes Katie again - it was getting harder and harder to catch them going under the stick because as it got lower and lower they would really rush to try and get under it)


There were quite a few grown-ups out there as well. So what do you think two martinis did to Shawn?

Check him out:

Go Shawn!!!

(He was done after that....LOL)

The restaurant was hopping that night, especially since we had that large group of 20 or so dancers sitting right behind us. Very well behaved, but definitely having fun and certainly getting in on some of the Polynesian dancing! Last but not least, they brought out dessert.....oh my heavens....one of the best desserts at Disney, in my opinion.

In addition, they brought out cupcakes for both Emily and Michael and had the whole restaurant sing to them individually, which considering all of the young dancers sitting around us turned into quite an event! It was fabulous!

We finished up our meal and made our way out of 'Ohana properly stuffed. We did a little bit of shopping in the gift shops in the GCH and took a few more pictures.

First off we hit the tikis to get some pictures of the kids:

(Awww...they DO love eachother)

Then on to the surfboard:

Then over to the waterfalls:

Where we also found that same Photopass Photographer from the other night and had him do another shot of the kids:

A few shots with the grandparents too:

Then we did a little bit of shopping. It was Katie's turn to push the button in the elevator, I take it!

We picked this out for our dog, Jellybean, but we didn't actually get it.

A lovely view of the interior of the GCH at night. Yes, it's dark, but that is all part of it's appeal to me!

So how did we end this wonderful day? Did we go back to the cold and wet Magic Kingdom and use up a couple of fastpasses we had burning holes in our pockets? Did we chill out in our rooms? Who is Shawn calling???

Hmmm....update to finish out this day will be done soon!!

Sara

 

[mkluvsmickey]

Ooh, cliffhanger.... I'm going to guess you relaxed at the Poly.

Loved this update, and glad I was eating lunch while eating it. Though that food looked way better than my egg salad sandwich. We've only been to 'Ohana once, but I've been itching to get back ever since. We didn't get the lei's though. Good for Shawn getting out there with the kids!

 

[TheNewMrsB]

Those pictures are amazing, especially the ones with all the kids together - definitely something to treasure throughout the years.

And the food! My lord! I have been wanting to get into 'Ohana ever since we booked this upcoming trip. Prior to this I hadn't been on the boards much and didn't understand what all the fuss was about with all the folks lined up at the check-in stand as I passed thru! Now I get it. But we still haven't managed to snag an ADR...sigh...

It looks like you all had a great time!

 

[vamassey1]

I'm so glad the girls did dinner as princesses. You got some really great shots of the kids. And Shawn limboing! It would take a lot more than 2 drinks to get Dennis to participate.

This does sound like the best meal of your trip. And a lot more tasty than my ham sandwich.

 

[Stasieki]

I didn't realize I was behind quite a few updates. The LTT breakfast looked great and very empty. I wish they would continue it. I loved the character dinner they did there and anything with Chip and Dale is always so much fun (do they still do the Garden Grill character dining???).

The BBB experience looked great, too, except for all that rain. I loved the three different reveals from each year!

 

[therussells08]

Great updates! The girls look so pretty in their dresses, but I can't believe that those jerks wouldn't let you on the monorail! Sometimes people really blow my mind.

We are trying 'Ohana for the first time in December (on New Years Eve, actually) and after reading your report I am SOO excited! The menu sound amazing, and I love the atmosphere! I can't wait!!

Hmmm...I can't wait to find out what you did with the rest of your evening!

 

[mom2mek]

Ooh, cliffhanger.... I'm going to guess you relaxed at the Poly.

Loved this update, and glad I was eating lunch while eating it. Though that food looked way better than my egg salad sandwich. We've only been to 'Ohana once, but I've been itching to get back ever since. We didn't get the lei's though. Good for Shawn getting out there with the kids!

Yeah, the food was delicious! You know, we didn't get leis going in to be seated like some do, but we did get them during the whole entertainment process! Over the course of the week, we had a lot of leis. I think we came home with at least 15 of them!!

Those pictures are amazing, especially the ones with all the kids together - definitely something to treasure throughout the years.

And the food! My lord! I have been wanting to get into 'Ohana ever since we booked this upcoming trip. Prior to this I hadn't been on the boards much and didn't understand what all the fuss was about with all the folks lined up at the check-in stand as I passed thru! Now I get it. But we still haven't managed to snag an ADR...sigh...

It looks like you all had a great time!

You should check while you are there - you never know about cancellations! Wow - you don't have much longer to go! I keep meaning to hop over and check out your PTR - I'm going to go do that right now!

I'm so glad the girls did dinner as princesses. You got some really great shots of the kids. And Shawn limboing! It would take a lot more than 2 drinks to get Dennis to participate.

This does sound like the best meal of your trip. And a lot more tasty than my ham sandwich.

I was so happy to see Shawn up there with the kids - one of the reasons I love Disney so much - Shawn relaxes and is just having fun with his kids. Disney was working some magic on Shawn that night!

I didn't realize I was behind quite a few updates. The LTT breakfast looked great and very empty. I wish they would continue it. I loved the character dinner they did there and anything with Chip and Dale is always so much fun (do they still do the Garden Grill character dining???).

The BBB experience looked great, too, except for all that rain. I loved the three different reveals from each year!

Yes, I believe they do the character meal at Garden Grill, but only for dinner, not at lunch anymore.

Thanks for hanging with me!!

Great updates! The girls look so pretty in their dresses, but I can't believe that those jerks wouldn't let you on the monorail! Sometimes people really blow my mind.

We are trying 'Ohana for the first time in December (on New Years Eve, actually) and after reading your report I am SOO excited! The menu sound amazing, and I love the atmosphere! I can't wait!!

Hmmm...I can't wait to find out what you did with the rest of your evening!

Aww man...I would LOVE to be at 'Ohana on New Years Eve! How perfect! Will you watch the fireworks from the beach afterwards? We have loved the food and the atmosphere both times we have had the pleasure of dining at 'Ohana! It's ranked #1 on our lists right now!!

Sara

 

[laashley]

What a great meal at 'Ohana. Really can't wait to try it out now. The pictures of the kids together were so sweet. You can really see through the pictures how great of a night it was for your family.

 

[stinkerbell007]

oooh, do tell!!

Linda

 

[taymacsmom]

That's it! You have sealed the deal for me. We have to do O'hana in 2011! It looks like so much fun! And that photo of your DH dancing with your DD....brought a tear to my eye. Priceless.

Kelly

 

[mom2mek]

What a great meal at 'Ohana. Really can't wait to try it out now. The pictures of the kids together were so sweet. You can really see through the pictures how great of a night it was for your family.

Thanks! It was a great night and I treasure those pictures - I hope to be able to make that spot a regular spot so I can compare them each time!

oooh, do tell!!

Linda

Update coming up in just a little bit....

That's it! You have sealed the deal for me. We have to do O'hana in 2011! It looks like so much fun! And that photo of your DH dancing with your DD....brought a tear to my eye. Priceless.

Kelly

Thanks Kelly! Definitely try 'Ohana - we have enjoyed it SO much over the last two family trips. I couldn't get MOm and I in there when we went in May since I had such short notice, and I lamented on it every time we passed 'Ohana thinking of everyone enjoying that delicious dessert!! The atmosphere has always been so festive, fun, and relaxing - we just adore it!

Sara