Been There, Done That and ThenSome:Timandlesley Do Disneyfor18days!11/2 TR IS UP!pg79

[LISAMWDW]

Urgghh, not the last day already! 18 days seemed to have went by so fast! Even reading about it! Sounds like it was a great day though!

 

[cherbear]

Luke (his father’s child OBVIOUSLY) enjoyed his horse ride a little too much, I love how Lauren is totally oblivious to what is going on behind her:

HILARIOUS!!! You captured this moment so perfectly!

Thank you SO much for the updates Lesley! They were wonderful as usual. I'm SO sad this report is almost over, but SO excited that you are going back in less than a month!

Narcoossee's looked WONDERFUL! I always wondered where exactly it was. That strawberry shortcake really did look devine...I love the chocolate "swizzle" rising from the top!

 

[mylag1rl]

Sounds like a great last full day ! Narcooses is a great restaurant. The Grand Floridian is beautiful and the restaurant has great food and a wonderful view. Glad you enjoyed it ... I am a fellow wine lover myself.

Can't wait to hear about your October trip plans. I have a confession to make I am leaving for Disney Thursday night for a girls's trip with my mom and sister. I am really excited to be going but I am leaving my husband and sons (16 and 14 years old behind). The guilt I am experiencing is overwhelming. I love Disney and can't wait to experience it with my mom and sister but I feel just awful that I am not taking them.

 

[stacikristine]

Wow! I can't believe you just wrote about Day 17! I remember when you were all still planning...

It sounds like a great day though! I can't believe how BLACK the sky was! Super scary. But at least you were already wet...

Narcossee's sounds incredible. We might have to think about dining there next time. The desserts look out of this world!

And that is so, so sad about the domestic issue. Things like that break my heart. It makes me so thankful that I have such a wonderful family.

I don't really want to read about Day 18 because that will mean the end But at least you'll be headed back really soon!!

 

[tiggrbaby]

Great update! I'm glad you finally got the story on the Teddy Bear Lady.

 

[disneyfan61]

I can't believe this TR is almost over!!! Narcoosees sounds great & I decided that my DH & I will be trying it in May instead of Cali Grill. Anywhere I can get lobster is a good thing. Great update. Those skies look so scary!!! We also love Flame Tree at AK. We love sitting down by the water. Not usually that many birds though. Looking forward to your plans for your next trip.

 

[disneyaddicted]

Hi Lesley,
I have always followed all of oyur TR's. I always wait and post at the very end of it. I'm sad to see it come to an end though. This TR has saved me. I fell off a ladder at work last July, broke my tibia, my fibula and partially tore my lateral ligament and ACL. I have been bored out of my mind at home and the DIS is a life saver, You are so consistent with your postings I always had something to look forward to.

This trip just sounds so amazing, all your trips are amazing. When I think of a Disney family, It's always yours in mind.

I can't believe how much your kids have grown from the first TR I've read of yours. Lauren is such a beauty and Luke is looking more and more like Tim every year.

Sorry to hear about Tim's knee giving him trouble, glad it didn't stop him from enjoying the trip.

I am really looking forward to your next TR.

Ty

 

[Sooze]

Lesley, my friend... another BRILLIANT trip report filled with fun stories, gorgeous pictures of you and your family, and laugh-out-loud moments that are so much fun to share.

THANK YOU for this great report, and for the timeliness in which it was completed... I can only WISH that I could be so on-the-ball.

Ready to read about your fall trip.. isn't that just around the corner?!?!

 

[timandlesley]

Lesley, my friend... another BRILLIANT trip report filled with fun stories, gorgeous pictures of you and your family, and laugh-out-loud moments that are so much fun to share.

THANK YOU for this great report, and for the timeliness in which it was completed... I can only WISH that I could be so on-the-ball.

Ready to read about your fall trip.. isn't that just around the corner?!?!

Thank you so much Sooze, you are a wonderful friend! I am glad you enjoyed it, I love your reports too and appreciate them. Yes, 22 days and counting baby!!!! I CAN'T WAIT!!!

Hi Lesley,
I have always followed all of oyur TR's. I always wait and post at the very end of it. I'm sad to see it come to an end though. This TR has saved me. I fell off a ladder at work last July, broke my tibia, my fibula and partially tore my lateral ligament and ACL. I have been bored out of my mind at home and the DIS is a life saver, You are so consistent with your postings I always had something to look forward to.

This trip just sounds so amazing, all your trips are amazing. When I think of a Disney family, It's always yours in mind.

I can't believe how much your kids have grown from the first TR I've read of yours. Lauren is such a beauty and Luke is looking more and more like Tim every year.

Sorry to hear about Tim's knee giving him trouble, glad it didn't stop him from enjoying the trip.

I am really looking forward to your next TR.

Ty

Hello Ty, Thanks for being a loyal reader, I am glad this years TR brought you joy. Another one coming up quick for our Oct. trip so be on the lookout for that.
Lesley

I can't believe this TR is almost over!!! Narcoosees sounds great & I decided that my DH & I will be trying it in May instead of Cali Grill. Anywhere I can get lobster is a good thing. Great update. Those skies look so scary!!! We also love Flame Tree at AK. We love sitting down by the water. Not usually that many birds though. Looking forward to your plans for your next trip.

I can't believe it's almost over either but glad you enjoyed it. Yes, those skies were scary. Plans coming tonight for next trip!

Great update! I'm glad you finally got the story on the Teddy Bear Lady.

Glad you enjoyed it.

Wow! I can't believe you just wrote about Day 17! I remember when you were all still planning...

It sounds like a great day though! I can't believe how BLACK the sky was! Super scary. But at least you were already wet...

Narcossee's sounds incredible. We might have to think about dining there next time. The desserts look out of this world!

And that is so, so sad about the domestic issue. Things like that break my heart. It makes me so thankful that I have such a wonderful family.

I don't really want to read about Day 18 because that will mean the end But at least you'll be headed back really soon!!

Yes, that sky was super black. The domestic issue was definitely sad to see. Yes, headed back SOON!!!

Sounds like a great last full day ! Narcooses is a great restaurant. The Grand Floridian is beautiful and the restaurant has great food and a wonderful view. Glad you enjoyed it ... I am a fellow wine lover myself.

Can't wait to hear about your October trip plans. I have a confession to make I am leaving for Disney Thursday night for a girls's trip with my mom and sister. I am really excited to be going but I am leaving my husband and sons (16 and 14 years old behind). The guilt I am experiencing is overwhelming. I love Disney and can't wait to experience it with my mom and sister but I feel just awful that I am not taking them.

Narcoses was AMAZING! So glad we enjoyed it. Yes, the wine was wonderful! I'll post Oct. trip plans tonight. Enjoy your girl trip, sounds so fun!
Lesley

HILARIOUS!!! You captured this moment so perfectly!

Thank you SO much for the updates Lesley! They were wonderful as usual. I'm SO sad this report is almost over, but SO excited that you are going back in less than a month!

Narcoossee's looked WONDERFUL! I always wondered where exactly it was. That strawberry shortcake really did look devine...I love the chocolate "swizzle" rising from the top!

That picture makes me laugh so hard, glad you appreciated it as well.

Urgghh, not the last day already! 18 days seemed to have went by so fast! Even reading about it! Sounds like it was a great day though!

I know, it went fast didn't it, next TR coming up soon so watch out : )

That looks like a pretty nasty storm. I'm glad you made it to shelter before the rain started. It is sad to see your trip ending, I have enjoyed reading it and seeing all your pictures.

It was a nasty storm, so glad you enjoyed it

Great update! I like that you guys are going out in style...eating at Narcoossees! It really is a touching story about the teddy bear lady! I just can not believe this 18 day adventure is coming to an end!!!

Yes, we went out in style indeed : )

Great update and interesting stories. That meal at Narcossee's looked fabulous! What a wonderful trip you had, all the way around! I am very excited for you - no one deserves it more. It is very gratifying to see a "normal" family who works hard and cherishes their kids and is able to enjoy their love of WDW. I hope your school year settles down a bit and you have a little more free time. Teaching school while taking care of your own kids is very demanding, though - I did it too so I know!

So glad you enjoyed it. Yes, it is demanding but Disney is a wonderful outlet for me right now! Thanks for always reading/posting : )

Great chapter, I've never had a desire to stay at SSR but now it seems really nice almost GF-esque!

Thanks Nicole, SSR is nice but no AKL or WL!!!

Another wonderful update! I really don't want your TR to end -- your 18 days of fun has definitely spoiled me!

Not the Magical Express envelope!!!

The picture with the giraffes in the trees is very cool!

Those storm clouds as you were leaving Animal Kingdom were sooo dark!!! Glad you made it back to the hotel safely.

Your dinner at Narcoosee's looks absolutely delicious!!!

The last night is always so bittersweet -- I could so live at Disney as well!

Let's move to Disney then !!! : )

I can't believe it is almost over

So glad you had a nice last day

Looks like you guys had a great time at AK and meal at Flame Tree looks delicious


Meal at narcosses sounds so good. I love the dessert presentations, too. so pretty

Like you said, you will be back in a few weeks......so Yay for that

The dessert presentation was out of this world! 22 days to be exact! CAN'T WAIT!!!

Great update! Narcossee's sounds YUMMY!!! Such a sad story about the teddy bear lady.

Hate the TR is coming to an end, but happy there is another coming up soon!!

Yes, another one coming up REAL soon!

soo sad it's almost over, but glad it's taken you so long, so I could catch up

How did you do standby at Everest with the kids? Did you get lucky to all ride together??

Also is narcosse's 2 credits?? that meal looked amazing!!!

so sad about the teddy bear lady

We got lucky and all rode together on EE, we just said "4" when they asked how many and they put us next to one another. It is sad about the teddy bear lady, thanks for reading.

WOW!! Great update!! I can't believe your TR is coming to an end! But I'm looking forward to hearing about your next trip! Narcosse's looks amazing!! I haven't heard much about it--the dessert pics are TDF!!

So glad you enjoyed it, next trip plans coming up soon!

 

[timandlesley]

So, we arrived at our last day at Disney, 18 days of our 18 day adventure. We had accomplished everything we wanted at the parks so we decided to just hit Downtown Disney on our final day. I arose about an hour before everyone else and started packing in the dark.
Here we are in the room bags packed:

We called Bell services and had them store our bags for us. We headed down to checkout, the kids enjoyed some t.v. in the lobby while we did so:

So did Flat Tyson and Flat Shae:

After we were all checked out we caught the boat to DTD:

There was a great view of the new Characters In Flight Balloon:

I would LOVE to do this, it looks fun, but it is so darn expensive, it would be around 50 dollars for the 4 of us to do it, sure wish they had an Annual Pass or DVC discount.
We had some fun shopping around and decided to eat lunch at Wolfgang Puck (something we had never done before). Right across from it was the new Princess Diana museum:

As we sat there eating we only saw ONE person go in, many people would go to the lady at the door and talk to her (probably asking how much it is to go in) but everyone walked away but one). I wonder if it will last….
The lunch options at Wolfgang Puck was wonderful, another GREAT value for the dining plan.
Look at the cute kids grilled cheese:

Tim had this pizza:

And I had one of their delicious sandwiches:

It was a GREAT meal, the deserts were good too, I had key lime pie and Tim had carrot cake. As we sat there it started raining buckets!

It was another one of those rains that rained harder than you could possibly imagine and then it stopped quickly (just in time for us to head back to SSR).
We walked around a bit more and soaked in the last bit of Disney magic:

Headed to the boatdock and took a pic of SSR in the distance:

We took the boat back to the resort to get ready to board the Magical Express bus:

Then we got our luggage from Bell Services (we flew Southwest and they don’t have the curbside checkin at Disney yet – but I hear it’s coming so I’m super excited!) and waited for our bus. Luke said goodbye to Disney (he was smiling this year though being satisfied after an 18 day adventure and knowing we’ll be “home” again soon!

There was an ADORABLE girl with Down syndrome on the bus who wanted to sit next to Lauren and they became fast friends. What I LOVE about my daughter is, because of my profession and her aunt with Down syndrome and her great accepting nature she either was totally oblivious that this girl had Down syndrome, or she didn’t care, but they played the ENTIRE way to the airport:

I’m happy to report our Magical Express bus arrived on time this year, the flight was on time and was great except that Luke and I had head colds going home and our ears popped worse than they ever have in my entire life. Luke cried almost the entire car ride home due to his pain and I was in so much pain I couldn’t hear or comfort him. It took me 3 days for my ears to get back to normal.
We had the Disney vacation of a LIFETIME. I can’t tell you how excited I am to be a Disney Vacation Club member. WE just LOVED this trip. Thanks for taking this ride with us, we return to Disney in 22 days (details to come) so be on the lookout for that Trip Report. I hope you enjoyed the ride ….. goodbye…. For NOW! : )
Lesley, Tim, Luke and Lauren

 

[timandlesley]

Soooooo, if you want more of timandlesley adventures then you will be happy to know that we return to Disney in a SHORT 22 days!!! I will be doing a TR for that trip so stay tuned.
Details of that trip:
Oct. 23-27th staying at Bay Lake Tower (I CAN'T WAIT TO STAY THERE!!!)
We have tickets for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. Luke is going as Mario, Tim as Luigi (they look so cute!!!) and Lauren and I are witches : )
Tim and I plan on putting the kids in child care for one night so we can go to Food and Wine Festival by ourselves, hopefully the night Boyz II Men is having their concert, should be a great night.
We are so excited for this trip and I can't believe it will be here soon. I plan on spending a ton of time at Epcot and I can't wait to experience Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party, all these WONDERFUL NEW DISNEY experiences. I am happy to get away from work for a while (I am using my 3 personal days) and to experience Disney without the supressing heat and humidity we have always had in June/July.
I hope you will come along for the ride with us, it will be here before you know it!!!
Lesley

 

[sharonW]

I will definitely be on board! Oct seems like such a terrific
time to visit. Was I wrong?? I thought this trip
was to be for you and tim without kiddos??

 

[toystoryduo]

A wonderful trip report, Tim and Lesley!!!! Can't wait for the next one!

 

[sharonW]

oh, by the way, I TOTALLY enjoyed the 18 day ride!
Couldn't live without the great disney "fixes" your TR'S
provide!!

 

[Trentmom]

So sad to see this end, but am glad you have another trip in 22 days

Looks like your last day was perfect

Lauren is so sweet and am glad Luke was happy leaving this time

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Lesley, Looks like your last 2 days were great - even if you were a little wet! I want to try Narcosee's next trip - looks really good! That story about the Teddy Bear lady is so sad. I love how Lauren was kind to the little girl on the bus, it shows she is being raised well!

I'm excited for you to be going on your trip again in 22 days! I can't wait to see how you like BLT. I thought it looked so much like Austin Powers would be there that I wouldn't ever want to stay there, but I've seen some pics lately, and it looks kind of cool! What a location!

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Great ending to a great report, Leslie! That is a long time to stay in Disney - do you plan a long trip like that next year? Have you booked for next year yet? We have our longest trip ever coming up this December (11-27th) and the kids have NO idea. Can't wait to see their reactions when we pull up to the Disney Magic on the 12th. THey are going to EXPLODE!

Have fun planning for MNSSHP. We did the party last week and it was awesome. It was the BEST parade we've ever seen in Disney. Tons of fun all night!

I'll be watching out for your next TR. Thanks again!!!

 

[Nicole786]

Those 22 days will just fly by! I'm leaving in a few short hours but it seems like just yesterday when I was a month away! Have a great time!

 

[pmama]

Weren't you and Tim originally planning on going without the kiddos? When did you decide to bring them along? Or, am I confused.

 

[dddisrunner]

GREAT REPORT!!! I loved reliving the trip through your TR! We had an amazing trip this past summer too and are THRILLED to have DVC! I can't believe your trip is just 3 short weeks away! Ours is 4 weeks from tomorrow and I cannot wait! It was so WONDERFUL meeting you guys and spending so much time together! The boys ask on a daily basis when they can see Luke and Lauren again! Have an AMAZING trip and be sure to give me some pointers when you get back about MNSSHP and food and wine!

Diane