All the Makings of a Disaster, The Wrap up 11/20

[lurkernj]

Wow!!! Some people are so rude!!!

I know, I just was speechless

 

[wuzzy6]

I am always dumbfounded by rudeness and self-entitlement some people display.

 

[lurkernj]

So, Nanny says we have to go back to the room, I mentioned that we could cancel dinner as we aren’t going to make it for 4:30 if we go back to the room.

Nope, Pop says don’t cancel. He is really grumpy now and has reached his limit. I should have just cancelled it anyway and called it a day, but off we went to Animal Kingdom Lodge. Nanny and I were going into the gift shop there to see if we could just get him some shorts. He is getting very testy and says don’t bother. I think he just needs the boys there. They are all so funny together. The boys treat him like he’s one of the guys and joke around and pass gas and all that boy stuff and Pop just loves it.

We are a little early, so we go outside to look at the animals. He finds some large hot rocks to sit on in hopes of absorbing some of the moisture in his shorts. Doesn’t really work, but he cheers up a little. We see lots of Giraffes and some other stuff too.

This resort is really beautiful. I would like to stay here someday.

Finally it’s time for our res. Pop is still soaked, but is trying to stand against the wall so it's not obvious. Luckily it's pretty dark in here. We get seated moments after we register. I really like this restaurant. Pop is a good sport during dinner and enjoys his meal. I loved the soups here, I had the crab soup and the seafood soup, both were delicious. I could have just had a meal with only that and some bread.

This is the seafood soup with some kind of corn muffin

I would definitely come back here again. The corn pudding with spinach was so good, sounds gross, but I even went back for more. I didn't get a pic of it, but it looks really gross anyway so it's probably better that way. I didn’t get many pics from this meal, as we were a little out of sorts and I kept forgetting.

Their desserts were delicious too. I had the bread pudding, Kenya coffee tart, zebra dome, peanut butter mousse, chocolate mousse, and the mango panna cotta. I think my favorites were the bread pudding and the mango panna cotta.

After dinner, we took the bus to DTD. Nanny and pop caught the boat from there, and I stayed to do some shopping. When I was done, I took the boat back to POR too. I cleaned up the room, took a shower, watched tv, and awaited Chuck to text that they’ve landed.

There once was a thread about towel animals and someone had posted a really cute pic of a creation found in their room that I just loved. So I brought some stuffed animals and created it myself. I knew Matt would really get a kick out of it.

Here it is...

They were supposed to land around 9:30. I figured they’d be at the hotel between 10:30 and 11. Chuck texted me at 9 to say they landed. I was pretty excited thinking they would get here even earlier. Well, at 9:20 he said they still hadn’t found a gate to approach. Finally, at 9:30 they got off the plane. When he got to ME, they had to wait for a bus, then wait for the bus to fill up. Now in my three trips to POR, we have always been the first stop. That was not to be the case for them. They stopped at all the Epcot resorts first, then were the last stop. And apparently there was a kid on there with a very annoying laugh.

The boys were both complaining that they couldn’t wait to get off, and of course this kid was staying at POR too, so they had him the entire time. They likened it to a high pitched hyena. They got there around 11:15. Matt was hungry, so we went to the food court to get him some pizza. Brian took the key and went to the room, and did not get lost

When Matt got to the room, the first thing he noticed was the stuffed animals and he started laughing. The other two didn't even notice until he said something.

Around midnight we all got to bed. We had to get up around 6:45 for our 8am res with Pooh bear in the Magic kingdom!!!

 

[luckylady]

All the pictures are great. Loving the one where Pop is leaning in to give Nanny a kiss and it looks like she is getting ready to punch him. Know what you went through with a grummpy ole FIL at Disney. Mine was happy in the am and grummpy by early afternoon and went back to the Poly of course MIL who wanted to stay went with him. I hope with the boys there now he found his happy place.

 

[lurkernj]

I am always dumbfounded by rudeness and self-entitlement some people display.

simply amazing sometimes

All the pictures are great. Loving the one where Pop is leaning in to give Nanny a kiss and it looks like she is getting ready to punch him. Know what you went through with a grummpy ole FIL at Disney. Mine was happy in the am and grummpy by early afternoon and went back to the Poly of course MIL who wanted to stay went with him. I hope with the boys there now he found his happy place.

I didn't notice her face when I took the pic of Pop trying to kiss her, but when I posted it and I could see it better, I was cracking up.

Pop does improve when the boys get there, but Chuck takes his place

 

[luckylady]

It's funny the things we see in pictures afterwords. Did you notice the fist she made like she was going to hit him?

 

[wuzzy6]

Pop does improve when the boys get there, but Chuck takes his place

Oh no!!! Of course, I'm feeling really guilty about wanting to read all about it! We are all such voyeurs here at the Dis!

 

[WDW2012]

Joining in! I was wondering how the fast pass + would work for parades and from your report, it doesn't seem too well. Hopefully they will fix it soon!

Kudos to you for going solo with your in-laws. I love my in laws (at times) and would never in a million years go alone with them! I am, however, cracking up that they just put their keys in random doors to figure out where their room was! Totally sounds like something my in laws would do! We just came back from WDW with them two weeks ago and that was enough for me. Never again and they are only 65 and 68. I can't imagine when they are in their 70's.

 

[lurkernj]

It's funny the things we see in pictures afterwords. Did you notice the fist she made like she was going to hit him?

I didn't!!! That's hysterical. I'll have to get that one printed for her

Oh no!!! Of course, I'm feeling really guilty about wanting to read all about it! We are all such voyeurs here at the Dis!

Don't feel guilty! Someone might as well get some entertainment out of this

Joining in! I was wondering how the fast pass + would work for parades and from your report, it doesn't seem too well. Hopefully they will fix it soon!

Kudos to you for going solo with your in-laws. I love my in laws (at times) and would never in a million years go alone with them! I am, however, cracking up that they just put their keys in random doors to figure out where their room was! Totally sounds like something my in laws would do! We just came back from WDW with them two weeks ago and that was enough for me. Never again and they are only 65 and 68. I can't imagine when they are in their 70's.

That parade situation was very uncomfortable and annoying. Definitely need to work on that.

The in-laws are just a trip, Nanny does these spastic things then Pop gets so bent out of shape with her. We found it funny that he was the one who left his bag in the van at the airport when it's usually her leaving her purse all over. If it was Nanny who did that, he would have made such a big deal out of it, but since it was him, he didn't want us to share it with the family.

I'm pretty sure this will be the last trip with them. I've tried to do a girls only Christmasy trip with Nanny and my two sisters-in law, but Nanny won't leave Pop, even for just a few days. He gets so anxiety ridden he makes himself sick.

 

[DISNEYDUET]

Oh Sherri! You've made me laugh, you've made me cry but most of all I just cringe. lol You must be a saint!! I'm recommending you for canonization!! Can't wait to see what happens when the whole clan is together. I'm guessing we better buckle up!

 

[lurkernj]

Oh Sherri! You've made me laugh, you've made me cry but most of all I just cringe. lol You must be a saint!! I'm recommending you for canonization!! Can't wait to see what happens when the whole clan is together. I'm guessing we better buckle up!

Lol, glad you're entertained Really, my mother in law is just so sweet and has a great sense of humor that it's not so bad. She even jokes around behind Pop's back about his grumpiness, I think it helps her keep her sanity (well, the little she apparently has left).

Stay tuned, Day 4 coming up!

 

[lurkernj]

Ok, I'm ready to post Day 4, but first I want to catch up on some of my photopass pics since I got my CD yesterday. So, here's just a few from my Epcot evening, my MK day, and one from DHS (didn't realize I was so negligent here!)

 

[lurkernj]

So, 6:45 rolls around.

I wake up on my own since Im up early at home. Getting the boys up does require a bit of effort. Chuck is up and ready to go.

We knock on Nanny and Pops door and they are ecstatic to see the boys.

We all get to the bus stop at 7:15 and immediately get a bus. Everyone is in a really good mood. I was so excited to get into MK early so we could get some pics on a quiet main street, which was the main reason for me planning this early ADR. No one else seemed to get it though and we just got a few photopass photos. And Main Street was a bit more crowded than I pictured.

Yup, that's the only pic we got (well, one more but it looks the same).

Anyways, we checked into Crystal Palace and waited just a few minutes before being seated. Breakfast was great. Everything was hot, fresh and delicious. I loved the puffed French toast.

We had some great character interaction, though Eeyore never made it around before we left.

I would definitely do this meal again, though I dont think Id do the 8am thing again, since we just didn't take advantage of those early pic opportunities.

During breakfast, Pop thought nothing about asking the boys if they heard that he $#%! his pants on Sunday. The boys thought this was hysterical and had Pop cracking up over it. I guess thats the sort of thing thats not funny at the time, but can be quite humorous a few days later (especially if its not you).

After breakfast, I instructed the boys to go to space mountain, the in-laws and Chuck to go to Buzz lightyear, and I went to Splash mountain to get some fastpasses. We were all to meet up at Buzz and ride together, then head over to adventureland to begin our circle. This worked out well, Chuck and the in-laws rode once before I got there, then the 4 of us rode, then 6 of us rode. Unfortunately, Nannys score never did improve and Brians was over 700,000 so no competition there.

We all rode jungle cruise, pirates, and went to use our fastpasses for splash, but it was down. Me and the boys went on Big Thunder, then we worked our way over to Haunted Mansion, we got fastpasses for Peter pan for noon, so we rode small world, and Philharmagic, then had to wait about 10 minutes for our Peter pan fastpasses.

While we were waiting, I could see the door open in the construction walls to fantasyland. My eyes lit up!

Right about now is when Chuck started to pout like a 4 year old. He wouldnt look at anyone or speak. It just came on suddenly. It was hot and he was tired. Totally get that, it was a late night and an early morning, but I cant stand attitude. Just say youre tired and you want to go rest. Use your words dear, it works much better.

So, we rode Peter Pan in awkwardness, then he, Brian, and the in-laws headed over to Aloha Isle for a dole whip, and back to the room. Matt said hed check out the fantasyland thing with me and wed stop at Main Street bakery on our way out.

When we approached the open door, the CM told us what it was for. The storytime with Belle testing. We entered and saw the line was really long. It had gotten very hot and humid this day, and Matt didnt want to wait the 45-60 min this would take, and honestly, as much as I would have liked to see it, I didnt want to wait either.

Here is the one pic I got to take if you haven't seen it a million times already

So we headed back out and went to Mainstreet bakery for some of these babies.

mmmmmm, these are so good. The cookies are nice and chewy and they are just rediculous in size. Matt ate all of his, but I think I only got about half way through mine. He was appalled that I was wasting the other half, but I just couldn't do it.

We went back to the room and everyone napped until 4:30.

 

[SheenaXena21]

Great Photopass pics!!!

 

[lurkernj]

Great Photopass pics!!!

Thanks Sheena! They do a pretty nice job and I love the borders

 

[lurkernj]

So, once everyone was up and ready, we took a bus to the Magic kingdom, so we could catch a boat to the Wilderness lodge for our Whispering canyon reservation. The sky was getting very dark and we were trying to get on the boat before they stopped running them. Fortunately they got us all on and off before the storm hit. Wasn't a very long storm and was over before you knew it.

Our res was for 6:20, but we got there around 5:50 and they were able to seat us immediately. Probably due to everyone cancelling their res since their menu change.

I mentioned in my PTR that this was Pops request and I was the least excited about the res. Then a week before our trip, they changed the menu and I was even less enthusiastic about it. Maybe because my expectations were so low there wasn’t anywhere to go but up, but this meal was pretty decent. Not great, but not bad at all.

Our server, Suzanne, was fantastic and we had so much fun with her. She has a teenager at home, so she was all about picking on Brian. She was yelling to the room that all the cute girls should come over to our table (of course the oldest girl was probably about 10), so no one came, but he was sufficiently mortified. When they did the horsey ride thing around the restaurant, she asked him to pick which one he liked and she’d have her come over. He just shook his head. We ordered the chicken, ribs and fish the first round. All were very good. Especially the fish. It was cod with some kind of crumb topping. It came with mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, baked beans and mixed vegetables. I cannot believe I don’t have pictures of this meal, especially since it’s so controversial. I think I was just feeling moody, cause on the way over, Chuck was complaining that we don't have a meal at Ohana planned (I needed to swap that out to fit in Cape May for Brian, and since Ohana wasn't requested by anyone it got axed). I quietly told him we could be there right now if we didn't have to eat at this place Our second round we ordered more chicken, fish, and the steak. The steak was gross. It had no flavor at all and was a little dry.

The desserts were weird, and that would be my main complaint. We tried the jalepeno lime cheesecake, and while it was good, I couldn’t see eating more than a spoonful of it. The chocolate cake thing had a weird gelatin texture to it, and it wasn’t actually chocolate cake, it had some pink and white stripes in it. The cranberry apple cake stuff was good, but I know it’s not for everyone and definitely not something I would choose for my dessert if I had selections to pick from. I was counting on the smore’s cheesecake for this meal, but that got dashed with the menu changes.

So, while the meal itself was decent, I wouldn’t go there again unless I was staying there. I wish they had choices like before, as not everyone wants to eat the same thing.

After dinner, I was planning to take the boat back to MK and head in for a few rides and the fireworks. Can you believe the Chuck and the boys just wanted to go back to the room?

This was the only guaranteed day the boys would be there since we had one day in each park and the last day was still open, and they were done in just 3 hours that morning. They had already napped for a couple of hours in the afternoon, so I doubt they were tired. I think a large part of this was that Chuck let them bring their laptops and they like to play computer games on there, especially Matt. I seriously think he has an addiction with these games as I often have to kick him off on the weekends to get him outside with his friends.

I was very disappointed and could feel my eyes welling up with tears, but I wasn’t going to cause a scene and just tried to contain myself. I guess it was my turn to pout now, since I didn't want to talk to anyone. I said I would just go by myself since I love Magic kingdom at night. Nanny said she’d go with me. I told her she didn’t need to, that I’d be fine. She was insistant that she wanted to see the fireworks again.

I guess Chuck was beginning to feel guilty and was now trying to encourage the boys to come into the park to use the splash fastpasses that we never got to use earlier (they said we could use them at any time that day). At first they said no, then they relented. I really didn’t want anyone to do anything they didn’t want to do and told Chuck this, but he insisted.

I checked the parks app on my phone and verified that it was up and running before dragging everyone over there.

Pop was the only one who was planning to go back to the room now, and the other five of us went back into the park. It was almost 8 by now, so we headed right over to splash to use the fastpasses. Since Nanny doesn’t ride this, she wanted to go to the bathroom and would wait for us on the bridge by splash. I pointed out where the bathroom was (by the Diamond horseshoe), and off we went.

When we got to the ride, it was down again. We went to the bridge to meet up with Nanny. We waited and waited and waited. We were afraid to go look for her since I figured she got lost and I knew she knew this place.

Just as I was telling Chuck and the boys they could leave, she showed up. She apparently came out of the bathroom and made a left instead of a right and got lost. So now it’s almost 8:30 and we haven’t ridden anything. Fortunately the kids didn’t complain, or I might have had a meltdown.

Haunted mansion was close by, so we decided to do that again. Then the men left and Nanny and I watched the fireworks from Main street.

I believe this is the only pic I took this night.

We hustled quickly to the bus when they were over and were back at POR by 9:40. Record time.

Chuck texted me that he and Pop were watching Bob Jackson in the bar so Nanny got off at the West depot and I stayed on to go to the main building. I needed to stop by the concierge anyway so I could add the “waterpark and more “ option to the boys tickets so they could go to Disneyquest on Friday. I went in the bar and had one drink, then left him there so I could go back to the room and shower and get ready for the next day. When I got to the room, the boys were of course on their laptops, but at least Brian was doing homework

I layed in bed that night trying to adjust to the fact that we would probably only be in the parks 3-4 hours each day, and the rest of the time would be spent hanging around the resort sleeping, but in order to have peace I'd have to go with it Just frustrating.

 

[DISNEYDUET]

I completely understand being upset about your lack of park time. I am having issue with our upcoming "no plans" trip. Every few days when I start looking at park hours and least crowded charts I get the "You were a CM! Didn't you spend enough time in the parks when you worked there?!?!" No ADRs. No plans. Fly by the seat of our pants. I may have a heart attack. lol. Glad they decided to join you.

 

[wuzzy6]

I'm with you - I really can't get enough park time! I can't wait to read more!!!

 

[lurkernj]

I completely understand being upset about your lack of park time. I am having issue with our upcoming "no plans" trip. Every few days when I start looking at park hours and least crowded charts I get the "You were a CM! Didn't you spend enough time in the parks when you worked there?!?!" No ADRs. No plans. Fly by the seat of our pants. I may have a heart attack. lol. Glad they decided to join you.

Oh my! I don't think I could do a "no plans" trip. I'd at least have to have some loose plans

I felt like a baby being upset over this, but come on, done by noon in the parks on your first day???? In Magic kingdom of all places???

I'm with you - I really can't get enough park time! I can't wait to read more!!!

The rest of the days were fortunately, a little more involved, but still revolved around going back to the room for a nap But at least we had some events to attend, food and wine, MNSSHP, and the Halloween 5k

 

[lurkernj]

So, after a frustrating first day with the whole gang, I decided for my own sanity I'll just go with it. Besides, I can definitely do Epcot at a relaxed pace, there isn't a lot that I "have to do" there.

I didn’t want to rush anyone today, so we let the kids sleep in til around 8:30 (I seem to think Brian got up earlier and went for a run). Everyone seemed to be in a good mood today and well rested. We got to Epcot around 9:30 and I was the fastpass runner for Soarin. They were for 11-12p.

We went over and rode Spaceship earth.

Then the kids did the Sum of all thrills. This is a design your own coaster thing, then ride it. This looks really cool, but I have some pretty severe claustrophobia, so I’ll just watch from the sidelines. I must say theirs was pretty intense and was tossing them all over the place.

We checked out the innoventions building and the CMs were more than happy to come explain what everything was. Then the guys all did Mission space (no thank you, claustrophobia again). When they were done, Pop needed to take his medicine, which involves eating something and having something to drink, so we all went over to the coffee stand by Ellen's and Pop got a cookie and a coffee. The boys wanted the mango smoothies, so I ordered one for each of them. They were not a snack credit, so I paid $11 for these. I figured since Chuck and I pay for alcohol, this is their equivalent.

Afterward, we all headed into club cool. This is one of the kids’ favorite places in Epcot. Brian sucked down his smoothie so he could fill his cup He said he'd pay $5 to any of us who would drink a smoothie cup of Beverly. He didn't get any takers, so he just got some of the stuff from Japan. After this, we used our Soarin fastpasses. Nanny is afraid of heights, but she will suck it up when the boys are there and ride this.

Then it was off to lunch at Coral Reef for our noon res. This is always Matt’s pick. He loves their steak. I know it gets such mixed reviews here on the Dis, but I also enjoy this meal very much. This was my 4th time and it was still great. I seem to think we got to the restaurant to check in and when I turned around, Matt was missing So, Chuck and Pop backtracked to see if they could find him. I knew he wasn't about to miss this res and that he'd find his way, but Pop was nervous. The kid is 6ft and 170lbs, I was pretty certain he hadn't been kidnapped in Epcot

They look very engrossed in conversation don't they?

Here's some food pics I managed to get.

Coconut smoothie (included on the dining plan)

strawberry smoothie

Mahi Mahi with laughing bird shrimp, oh my God, I could just lick the plate it's so good.

I didn't want to push my luck, so I didn't get pics of the other entrees, but Nanny got the short ribs and couldn't stop raving about them. Pop got the chicken, which looked rather uninteresting, but he said it was good, Matt got the steak of course, and Chuck, Brian and I got the Mahi Mahi and were all completely satisfied.

Here's a couple of desserts:

I'm sure you all recognize the chocolate wave. Delicious as usual.

This is some kind of blood orange cheesecake. I wouldn't recommend it. I think Chuck ordered it. It was edible, but kind of blah.

I'm just noticing the gigantic turtle in the background in the aquarium. He hung out there quite a bit during this meal.

After lunch, everyone actually wanted to ride Nemo, then it was back to the room for a nap. I guess we got back around 2:15. Here's a photopass pic we had taken before we left.

coming up: food and wine, and some more wine