After An Entire Year Of Planning We Winged It! May '10 with 1477 pics 3/26/11 update

[tracisup]

I am really enjoying your trip report. I love your infectious and positive attitudes, even during times of distress. It's great that you've been able to take a trip with just the little ones. We too have teenagers in our house, and a preschooler. It makes for interesting and challenging vacations. HA!! We are hoping to take just our little guy sometime, without hurting the feelings of the older kids who've been to WDW many many times.

Can't wait for the next installment.

Thanks for reading.

Yep, Our 19 year old is in the Army. (currently serving in Iraq) He would actually enjoy going to all the little kid stuff with the little ones.

My 17 year old is a different story! He tells me everyday that he never wants kids! Thats fine with me (for now)

 

[Sweetpeamd]

Subbing!

 

[taymacsmom]

Just joining in! We, too, have teenagers and a 5 year old. Looks like a great trip so far and I can't wait for more!

Kelly

 

[MMS1125]

subbing...

(Love the age difference in the kiddos! My older bro and I are 18 years apart...and we've been trying for 5 years for a 3rd and who knows if that'll ever happen..although we are totaly ok if it doesn't)

 

[adamsup]

Day 2 - California Grill and Pixie Dust of our own!

Hey everyone! So, we left off with a yummy lunch at Kona Cafe.

We headed back out into the humidity and caught the monorail back to CR. Our plan was to go back to our room and unpack the rest of our stuff (remember, the box of supplies was delivered to our room earlier that morning), while Max took his much-needed nap (!) Sounds like a good plan anyway...

We darkened the room with the nice thick blinds that hotels provide, got Max into his jammies and tucked him into bed. We ran a bubble bath for the girls, they love to play in bubble baths, and went about our unpacking as quietly as we could.

Max laid down, relaxed and watched us as we were organizing our stuff... but unfortunately he needs to actually sleep in order to not be a , but sleep he didn't!

We went ahead with our plans though and when it was time to get ready for our 7:35p reservation at the California Grill, we got him up and dressed, knowing that he was probably going to be a bit of a grinch in an hour or so! The girls were looking forward to wearing their new dresses (one of many new outfits that is!) with the green hair bows and green glow ankle bracelets because that's not typically a color they wear.

We found the 2nd floor check-in desk, checked our stroller in, and took the elevator to the 14th and had a 5 minute wait in the lounge until we were seated.

At 8:02pm, The California Grill announced the sunset. We thought this was really neat to make a special occasion out of something that happens every day and that we all take for granted

Here's a picture of the sunset behind Brooklyn and then a picture of the kids watching it from the Observation Deck

It was amazing being able to see the castle from our table! The pictures never do it justice, but here's one anyway of the castle behind Paris

So far so good, Max was occupied and wasn't being a grump!

I ordered the California Roll sushi appetizer. It was OK, but I made the mistake of eating one of those orange things in the top right corner, still not sure what it was but it tasted gingery and disgusting!

and Traci ordered the triple cheese, sun dried tomato brick oven fired flatbread

Once we finished our appetizers, the girls wanted to spread some Pixie Dust around the room. Our Pixie Dust consisted of a bag of assorted costume jewelery rings that the girls would offer to other kids in the restaurant.

It was so cute to watch the girls walk up to other kids and open the bag and let them pick a ring! Some kids didn't know what to do or weren't sure if they should take one. It was entertaining to watch

If you look behind Brooklyn, you'll see a girl with a ring on!

By the time our entrees arrived, Max was really starting to act up, and wouldn't be tricked into quieting down by giving him a toy or crayon We can laugh now but it wasn't too funny at the time. He didn't want to sit still and would yell and shout and throw things on the floor - all a product of being over-tired.

The girls ordered the macaroni and cheese and grilled chicken and roast potatoes from the kids menu

Traci ordered the Crispy Chicken and substituted the Leek and Manchego Fondue with stir fried vegetables instead

and I ordered a filet mignon, which was tender and delicious

Look at how perfectly cooked this is.. yum!

Our entrees arrived a few minutes before Wishes. Right on the dot, the lights dimmed and Wishes was announced.

The entire room went quiet. It was an amazing experience to watch a room that was fairly loud silence to expectant anticipation in less than a few seconds.

The girls did that "lay-back-in-the-chair-because-your-tummy-is-about-to burst" thing about half way through dinner. They were totally stuffed, but look at how much food they still had on their plates, and they have dessert to order yet! That's the DXDP for you!

For dessert, Traci and I ordered the Valrhona Chocolate Cake

and the girls ordered sushi. We thought this was a cute idea!

It was past 10pm by the time we were done. Max was. Traci tried holding and rocking him but he was having none of it! We had a great time and loved the experience, but were ready for bed. We had an early start and a long day ahead of us.

Plans for the following day: Hollywood Studios in the morning, breakfast at Hollywood and Vine...

For those of you that love HS and Hollywood and Vine, don't get too excited (you might want to re-read the title of our trip report!)

 

[sissy_42]

I've been enjoying reading your TR the past few days! So nice to see all the ways you are making your own magic and it looks like you had lots of fun!

I ordered the California Roll sushi appetizer. It was OK, but I made the mistake of eating one of those orange things in the top right corner, still not sure what it was but it tasted gingery and disgusting!

The orange stuff is pickled ginger! It is a palate cleanser. I don't really like it either.

 

[Queenofallthings]

Another fantastic update!

The girls look absolutely adorable in their new dresses, you really do have beautiful children. California Grill....there is nothing like it when Wishes begin It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up....it was the most magical evening we have ever spent in the World!!

 

[kate_wdw]

I love your girls’ dresses and bows! So pretty!

You caught both sunset AND Wishes at CG?!? Talk about perfect timing!

I don’t think I’ve ever seen pictures of the CG kid’s meals before. They look really good. And the "sushi" is adorable.

 

[mermaid764]

I love the girls dresses...they look adorable and you have such a beautiful family.

The view from California Grill looks amazing and is definitely making me want to do this one someday.

How nice that your girls were so excited to spread the pixie dust...that was sure a thoughtful idea.

Looking forward to hearing more

 

[MissJanice]

Yummy! I could eat the kids dinner and be perfectly happy!

 

[adamsup]

Another fantastic update!

The girls look absolutely adorable in their new dresses, you really do have beautiful children. California Grill....there is nothing like it when Wishes begin It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up....it was the most magical evening we have ever spent in the World!!

Wishes really is special, either in the park or in the California Grill. The way the music fades in at the very beginning...

I love your girls’ dresses and bows! So pretty!

You caught both sunset AND Wishes at CG?!? Talk about perfect timing!

I don’t think I’ve ever seen pictures of the CG kid’s meals before. They look really good. And the "sushi" is adorable.

Yes we were really lucky to catch both the sunset and Wishes. We had read previously that the meal can take up to 2 hours so we planned to be there for that long, which worked out perfectly!

I love the girls dresses...they look adorable and you have such a beautiful family.

The view from California Grill looks amazing and is definitely making me want to do this one someday.

How nice that your girls were so excited to spread the pixie dust...that was sure a thoughtful idea.

Looking forward to hearing more

Thanks! We were a little apprehensive about CG at first, worried that it was more an adults-only affair. Wther you have kids or not, you should definitely try it! Our 7:30pm reservation let us catch the sunset and then Wishes, so that might be worth shooting for if you decide to go.

Yummy! I could eat the kids dinner and be perfectly happy!

Kids meals on the DXDP are OK at best for the most part, but CG's was definitely one of the best.

 

[tracisup]

Subbing!

Just joining in! We, too, have teenagers and a 5 year old. Looks like a great trip so far and I can't wait for more!

Kelly

Thanks for reading!

subbing...

(Love the age difference in the kiddos! My older bro and I are 18 years apart...and we've been trying for 5 years for a 3rd and who knows if that'll ever happen..although we are totaly ok if it doesn't)

Thanks! I know what it feels like to 'try' for a LONG time for a baby although you wouldnt be able to tell by looking at my family now!

Another fantastic update!

The girls look absolutely adorable in their new dresses, you really do have beautiful children. California Grill....there is nothing like it when Wishes begin It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up....it was the most magical evening we have ever spent in the World!!

Thank You! They dont normally wear green (my least favorite color) When I pulled them out of the closet at the CR, they didn't believe me when I said they were theirs and asked me how come they were green They did love them though

I love your girls’ dresses and bows! So pretty!

You caught both sunset AND Wishes at CG?!? Talk about perfect timing!

I don’t think I’ve ever seen pictures of the CG kid’s meals before. They look really good. And the "sushi" is adorable.

Thanks!! We made our ressies 180 days in advance to get that 'perfect time' I'm so glad we did.

I love the 'sushi' deserts too - Rachael Ray made them on her show once. I wonder if Cali grill copied.

I love the girls dresses...they look adorable and you have such a beautiful family.

The view from California Grill looks amazing and is definitely making me want to do this one someday.

How nice that your girls were so excited to spread the pixie dust...that was sure a thoughtful idea.

Looking forward to hearing more

Thanks for staying with us! The report is taking longer than we expected. Its fun to remember it all though.

Yummy! I could eat the kids dinner and be perfectly happy!

Oh, I know! The mac and cheese was HUGE. It was all big portions. We ordered 2 meals (mac n cheese & chicken) for the 3 of them to split and there was still tons left over.

 

[JPFamilyMom]

The girls dresses are adorable. All the kids looked so nice. Max looked dashing.
I love the kids sushi, lol, how fun.
What a fun evening, celebrating sunset and wishes.
Can't wait to see what you actually end up doing the next day.

 

[pigletforever]

Finally caught up. What a great report. Doubt I could ever get hubby to co write one with me. You have a a huge gap between your kids as well. Mine are 13 years apart. Can't wait to read more.

 

[tracisup]

The girls dresses are adorable. All the kids looked so nice. Max looked dashing.
I love the kids sushi, lol, how fun.
What a fun evening, celebrating sunset and wishes.
Can't wait to see what you actually end up doing the next day.

Thanks again. We are planning to post tonight when the kids are in bed. I am picking the pics now.

Finally caught up. What a great report. Doubt I could ever get hubby to co write one with me. You have a a huge gap between your kids as well. Mine are 13 years apart. Can't wait to read more.

Thanks for reading. Its fun to write the trip together because we get it live it all over again.

 

[DisneyFanDC]

I am so enjoying your TR; anxious to read more. Your children are just precious, and I adore the matching outfits!

 

[serene56]

I need to catch up-I love reading first trip reports. We are heading out for Jadas first trip in September. Been priming her forever and she is 4.

 

[tracisup]

I am so enjoying your TR; anxious to read more. Your children are just precious, and I adore the matching outfits!

Thanks. I love matching outfits. It's fun. I did the same thing with my oldest two when they were younger.

I need to catch up-I love reading first trip reports. We are heading out for Jadas first trip in September. Been priming her forever and she is 4.

We are going in September also. What dates are you going?

 

[serene56]

We are goin September 18th thru the 26th.


Question regarding eating: Did you find the kids are done eating and you are not even half way done? How did this work out?

 

[tracisup]

We are goin September 18th thru the 26th.


Question regarding eating: Did you find the kids are done eating and you are not even half way done? How did this work out?

We are going September 10-16.

We take the kids out to eat every weekend and dont really have that issue here and we didn't have there.

There are a lot of fun and interesting things to look at in each restaurant. If you are at a character meal, the kids not only love when the characters at their table but stay interested in watching them navigate around the room. Also, there is a lot to talk about. Everything you have been doing and what things you are going do to next. We had great family conversations during meal times. We only felt rushed to leave a couple times and it was because we had napping isssues that day.

Most places gave the kids coloring sheets and crayons. Max was too young for them but I found that the girls really enjoyed coloring for a while before the meal started. The kids get so tired (even with proper naps) and just sitting still to color was a welcome break for them.

With Max, I always have a trick or two up my sleeve. I had those little tiny dum dum suckers, small spinner, flashing toy and other things like that (that were new to him) in case he got bored. Honestly though, I didnt need to pull them out much.

Here are some tips that I use at home and out to eat.

Tip: Don' let the kids fill up on bread. Actually, adults need to be careful there too. They put it on the table at the start of the meal and its so tempting!!

Tip: Dont start feeding the kids until you start eating. I notice people with small kids and and even babies will order their food and then start getting things from their diaper bag to fee the kids and then once the food comes, the kids are full and ready to leave. I cant count how many parents I have seen do this at the jar feeding stage especially.

Tip: I found that at the buffets, I would just give the kids veggies (or salad) on their plate the 1st round. The next round, I would add in the meat and carbs and last was the desert. It makes them eat their veggies and it takes time for them with each different round and kept them from being bored.

Tip: Make a buffet Family Style. I often go up and get 4 plates. I carry them stacked on top of each other (unless the buffet is very close to our table, if its very close, I deliver the plates) I fill the top plate with the food for all 3 of them and then dish it out to their individual plates at the table. Its WAY faster than going up for each plate and ensures that each kid is being served at the same time. While I am doing that, Adam gets the highchair from the host and passes out bibs and gets the sippe cup and wipes out and all. While I am putting the food on each of their plates, Adam goes to get his food and when he returned, I get mine. It works well and seems to be the fastest way to do it. We have been doing it this way for years and it works for us. It helps because we do it the same way everytime (home or Disney).

Sorry for the book! LOL

Hope this helps. >)