So we threw our stuff in our room. I changed the kids into clothing more appropriate for the warm weather. I didnt write down the temp, but it was still 93, or so.
We decided that we would just go over to DTD and eat. We would save the table service credits we were originally going to use that night and use them during one of our MK days. We hoped to be able to get into Ohanas later in the week. If not, maybe Kona or Grand Floridian café.
My parents had actually been trying to reach the dining line during the day- but some of you may remember what happened that day. Our departure day just happened to be Oct 27th- the day the ADR window opened back up to 180 days- and the day all the dining systems crashed.
So we took a short walk to the boat dock. They ran every 20 minutes, on the hour, so we were able to time it with practically no wait.

view of DTD from the boat- sorry, my camera doesn't like night.

C & J on the boat

M & I on the boat
Instead of sandwiches at Earls, we ended up at Wolfgang Puck Express. It was our first time to use the dining plan, so luckily we had a very nice lady at the register who happily answered any questions for us. We placed our order and sat down at a large table. We had a number so that our food could be brought to us when it was ready.
Let me tell you, if all counter service places were like this, I probably wouldnt even even bother with table service. Employees even come around and check on you as if they were waiters.
We fixed James a bottle and by that time our food was there. I remembered to take out my camera, but was quickly laughed at!! So I didnt get a pick of everything.
{Note- for most of the meals, I either forgot totally or forgot until we were in the middle of them. Sorry! }
My dad and I had the bbq chicken pizza. Pretty Yummy!
Sliced chicken breast in our sweet and tangy bbq sauce with melted provolone cheese, tomato, and red onions

My sister and Chris had the pepperoni pizza. I didn't get much feedback, but they both finished them, so i guess no news is good news?

My mom had the chicken aioli pocket sandwich. It was huge!
Sliced chicken breast, melted provolone cheese, romaine lettuce, tomato, red onion, and cilantro aioli. Served with Yukon Gold parmesan potato chips.

I think both kids had the cheese quesadillas.

I decided that next time we came I should try the Chinois chicken salad. I think every table around me got one, and man, did it look good.
Fresh Asian veggies, sliced pan-roasted chicken breast, crispy wontons, and Wolfgang's famous honey-mustard dressing

We all decided that we would happily eat here again.
The frozen yogurt machine was out, so we decided to get cookies and brownies and just take them with us.......I had something else in mind for dessert.
So we made our way around the corner to- where else- but Goofys candy kitchen!!
Id heard many stories, and salivated at countless pictures of goodies, so it was definitely a must do for us. We made our way around to the counter and waited our turn for a make your own goody.
Maya picked the starter- rice krispy treat. So Cayden picked the topping- mini m & ms. i picked the milk chocolate dip and white chocolate for the drizzles.
While we waited we looked at the giant rice krispy for sale. Again, i thought i took a picture, but it isn't on my card. I know mom did.
And the kids watched their treat being made.


Its our turn

my princess watching the gooey goodness created
Mmmmmm, it was so good! I swear there was an inch of chocolate in between the m& ms and rice crispy. It was definitely an all week treat for the kids.

the finished product
By this point, it was already about 930 pm. So we decided to head back to the hotel. We were hoping that our suitcases had made it so we could pack our park bags and get everything ready for the next morning as much as we could.
On the way, we stopped and visited with some ceramic friends.
CINDY

AURORA

MICKEY & MINNIE

DONALD & DAISY


POOH & FRIENDS


& BUZZ

starting her poses already

The blue boat was just pulling in as we made it to the dock! Great timing! We got back to SSR, and walked to our room. We opened the door to find a surprise from Mickey & the Gang ..
(before we left for dinner, I forgot something and ran back to the room; I had planned to do this before we ever walked into the room at check-in. )

our surprise from Mickey; by the way, this table/ mirror is in the entryway to the hotel room
All three kiddos had a stuffed baby (M-Daisy, J-Pooh, and C-Stitch) thanks Disney Store for sale prices! Maya and Cayden each had a watercolor set (Princess & cars), Disney halloween tote bags,and a Pez dispenser. They also had some printed pages I had found online. Basically they were for filling our your favorite things. And finally they had a lanyard and pins. (purchased on Ebay; I wasnt sure if they would get into it but wanted to give them the option). James had a couple Disney books in addition to his stuffed baby. There also was a welcome letter I got here from the DISigns board.


reading the arrival letter with Nonni
Our suitcases had arrived, so we did a bit of unpacking. Both of our suitcases had a little bit of clothing on the bottom, and the tops were filled with random things- glowsticks, snacks, shower curtains, etc. whatever weird must-have for the park you can think of.
The randoms were on the top, so they got unpacked.
One drawer for park stuff.
One shelf for diapers, wipes, bibs.
One shelf for baby food/ snacks/ formula/ bottles/ sippies/ bowls/ spoons. We had decided to take powder formula once we say how hot it would be. A bit more difficult to deal with, but definitely lighter. And we took take n toss spoons and bowls for his baby food and snacks, so we could just toss them if they got nasty. I shipped down a box ahead of time with diapers, wipes, formula. It was about 22 pounds, but still cheaper than an extra suitcase or an overweight charge.
And one drawer for baby toys. We didnt bring him any big toys. We just brought things that we could attach to the stroller with linkidoos. We took a string of linkidoos and 3-4 small toys to the park with us each day and switched them out as necessary.
The room was tight with all our stuff, but we made it. Chris and I put our suitcase/carryon on the floor in the closet. The bathroom sinks area was very open, so we put the kids suitcase under the sinks. We could still get to the sink, no problem. We put the empty box under the second sink, to use for dirty clothing.
We put the hotel provided pack n play in front of the other sink. We couldnt reach it very easily, but it was manageable. We put the crib in the corner in between the small table and the window.
We put the kids in bed and played around a bit with the online dining reservation system. We found one, for 850 pm. Im not remembering which day it was, but it didnt work for us with our park plans. It also was really a bit late, I thought for the kids.
We were tired, and ready for bed. It was maybe 1230 by this point- but I was working off 3 hours the night before. Plus, the next day was a big one
up next- Magic Kingdom!!!!
