Cab's are here!! - A Goody Grand Gathering. Update 5/7 Let's get this party over!

[my2disneyboys]

Wonderful update! I cannot believe how big Owen is getting

looks like it was an absolute beautiful day!

Thanks Connie. I know- they grow WAY TOO FAST!

Thats the one Cayley picked!!

I wonder if I can buy clothes online??

Okay...I'm late to the party, but I'm here now. Back to read and catch up.

I'm so excited!!! Welcome!!! I have to warn you, I am a really bad writer, but love taking pics, so hopefully I can keep you entertained to keep reading!!

I am sorry for the rude comments. I am always needing to know where my kiddos are at as well.

You got some great pics at AK!!

Thanks Mary. It was tough.

 

[KatMark]

Okay, I'm now through all of your chapters.

First, I give you huge kudos for even doing a Grand Gathering. We went with just my mom and dad and I said NEVER again (it didn't help that my parents did not get along).

We are trying Earl of Sandwich for the first time in September...can't wapit.

The photos at CM's are awesome.

I love Figment...and I sing the song all day long too, so no worries.

Sorry about the meal at Teppan Edo and getting all split up.

Again, great photos at Crystal Palace. And, as for the puffed french toast, all I can say is:

As for your SIL and the GF...SHAME ON THEM! You are the mother and you have every right to be overprotective. My boys are still 25 and 22 and sometimes I still am overprotective.

Love your day at AK. Isn't Lion King great? We saw it for the first itme last September. This year, we will try Nemo.

 

[chicagoshannon]

Sounds like you were having a much better day.

 

[jngwright]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO We can't afford it!!!! You know I was thinking tonight how long it would be until we get back to Disney World though. LOL

We could shoot for a girls weekend for the Everest Challenge in May 2012 and the Princess Half Relay in February 2013 for family trips..... Then Disneyland, of course, at some point

 

[jngwright]

Love the pics and update. I have never thought about Mondays at Disney before-that is a great point! I NEVER watch the news when we are at Disney and I love the break from reality that WDW provides

Fun, Fun!!!!

 

[Charlefours]

So true about Mondays at Disney--they are much more cheery there then at home. Love the AK shots.

 

[my2disneyboys]

Okay, I'm now through all of your chapters.

First, I give you huge kudos for even doing a Grand Gathering. We went with just my mom and dad and I said NEVER again (it didn't help that my parents did not get along).

We are trying Earl of Sandwich for the first time in September...can't wapit.
It is REALLY GOOD!!
The photos at CM's are awesome.
Thanks so much- we go there on every trip as our first night tradition!
I love Figment...and I sing the song all day long too, so no worries.

Sorry about the meal at Teppan Edo and getting all split up.

Again, great photos at Crystal Palace. And, as for the puffed french toast, all I can say is:

As for your SIL and the GF...SHAME ON THEM! You are the mother and you have every right to be overprotective. My boys are still 25 and 22 and sometimes I still am overprotective
Thank you!!!! I know.... it was a bad !!!!
Love your day at AK. Isn't Lion King great? We saw it for the first itme last September. This year, we will try Nemo.

Nemo is so great too! You will love it. Try to sit near the section that has the walkway right in front if you can!

Sounds like you were having a much better day.

Yes- BUT with these big family trips, its all about ups and downs!

Love the pics and update. I have never thought about Mondays at Disney before-that is a great point! I NEVER watch the news when we are at Disney and I love the break from reality that WDW provides

Fun, Fun!!!!

Our next trip we are leaving on a Monday- so I dont think I will be too happy then!

So true about Mondays at Disney--they are much more cheery there then at home. Love the AK shots.

Thanks Steph!! We decided with only 4 days on this next trip- we are skipping AK. I am not sure how that will go over with the kids. We love the safari!!

 

[jngwright]

Good morning! Are you working on an update?

 

[my2disneyboys]

Ok, from now on I am doing these updates in WORD. Seems how I just lost another whole update. Curse you DIS Boards!!!

Day 4 – FABULOUS Dinner, great company, yummy drinks, great entertainment, very special family memories….. Now THIS is why we come to Disney!​

We took the boat from our hotel (LOVE THIS) and headed down the river towards Downtown Disney.

The weather was PERFECT and everyone felt rested and relaxed. Once there we walked right to Raglan Road because our dinner ADR was coming up soon.

We checked in and were seated at a table near the stage…. We decided to move though because we wanted to talk and it was so loud in that main room. We all got drinks and ordered an appetizer. The music/dancing was awesome!! Myles got up and did a little number for us and when he finished all the tables around us clapped for him.

He is such a little ham!

Wayne had lamb and I had some type of corn beef and cabbage…. But the cabbage was one piece of wilted green- more like a garnish. Very disappointing! Everything else was perfect though. The kids had collected about 5 vinylmations by now, and they were having a blast playing with them while the adults talked, and talked, and talked. For dessert we had told everyone about how good the Bread pudding and warm caramel sauce was so of course we needed to get that!

Scott had also ordered a cake for Carrie.

OMG I am still full from this night!!!!

After our wonderful dinner we were headed to “Build a Dino!!!!!” The kids have been talking about doing this for a REALLY long time. They wanted to on the last trip and we never got to it…. So that was the first stop!
Even Steph had to get in on the action!!

We had a blast!!

We shopped for awhile

and then headed back to the boat. Such a nice night!!! So, we kept hearing people talk about this big storm hitting Chicago and the North East. Scott and Chris were both leaving the next day and were getting worried. Scott ended up moving his flight up and was planning on leaving right after breakfast. It was going to be sad to see everyone go but we were also looking forward to having some time alone as a family too!

Up next: Day 5 (DHS and dinner at the Wave)

 

[my2disneyboys]

Good morning! Are you working on an update?

All Done!!

 

[jngwright]

MMMMM..Bread pudding!! We liked Raglan Road, but were sad that we were NOT near the stage. We could hear everyone laughing and clapping and felt like we were missing out. Good thing you got your own little show

Cute pics! I love the boat, too

XO

 

[Mrs. Sojourner]

Glad you had a great night!

 

[longing2Batdisney]

what a wonderful night! so sad that it was starting to come to an end...can't wait to hear more; Ashton would love the build a dino that is really cute!

 

[my2disneyboys]

MMMMM..Bread pudding!! We liked Raglan Road, but were sad that we were NOT near the stage. We could hear everyone laughing and clapping and felt like we were missing out. Good thing you got your own little show

Cute pics! I love the boat, too

XO

That is funny that you guys wanted to be near the stage!! It was REALLY loud!!! But we were going to be almost attached to the stage.... if we could have been in that big room but further back from the stage it would have been perfect!! It was such a great meal though and YUM that bread pudding was SO good!!!!

Glad you had a great night!

Thanks!! Yes a fun drama free night!

what a wonderful night! so sad that it was starting to come to an end...can't wait to hear more; Ashton would love the build a dino that is really cute!

The build a dino was so much fun for them. We do the build a bear here so I was kind of against it, but they have been asking for 2 years now and they LOVED it!

 

[my2disneyboys]

We woke up on day 5 and met everyone in the food court at "our" table. Scott and Carrie were ready to take off for their flight. They were nervous that it wouldn’t be taking off and Carrie wanted to just wait out the storm and stay in Disney! So we said goodbye to them. Excited that the next time we saw them, they would have a baby!! Chris checked his flight and the screen read "cancelled"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The plan was for Wayne and I to say goodbye to all and go to DHS for Rope Drop but we couldn’t just leave Chris and the girls. So, we ended up hanging out longer at breakfast and Chris was on the phone with the airlines on hold for over an hour! When he finally got through, the next flight they could take would be on Saturday night- OUR FLIGHT!!! They were all freaking out. Kind of excited about staying at Disney, and scared about missing work and school!!

Wayne and I ended up taking the girls with us to DHS and Chris stayed back to sort out the details of seeing if he could get his room back and calling his work and Holly’s school. Poor Steph, her work gave her a really hard time. The manager was like, “isn’t there another flight you can take! It isn’t even snowing here yet!” Chris’s boss gave him a hard time too. Crazy!!! What the heck were they to do. Chris’s boss actually said, “can’t you just rent a car and drive”

So the morning was pretty stressful. When we got to DHS, it was just about to open. Wayne did the MAD DASH to Toy Story Mania and got us all fast passes while we hung back and visited with the characters. Geesh, I am already forgetting the details of the trip! I can’t remember what we did! Oh yeah, we ended up riding TSM and saving the Fast Passes for later.

Walked around a little… there was NOBODY there.

Wayne liked this sign...

We ended up going to see the Muppet show. We all love the Muppets and it was a fun thing to do while we were waiting for Uncle Chris.

After the Muppets, Chris had arrived, so we went to meet up with him and the plan was for them all to ride TOT.

Myles had always been afraid of it, and he said on this trip he wanted to ride it. Owen had never been on it and because Myles was going to do it, he said he would. So the wimp took a seat on a bench and rested a bit while they went off to the ride. Two minutes later, Wayne comes walking towards me with a hysterical Myles trailing behind. I guess, he freaked out and was like “I don’t want to do this!!!!” and he was crying so Wayne and him got out of the line and then of course he WANTED too! So he was crying because he got scared and then because he wanted to go on with everyone and they were already on. So he had a total meltdown…. A few minutes later Chris and the girls and Owen come back. They all loved it but Owen said he wouldn’t do it again because he didn’t like the drop! So, they see Myles crying and they decided to take him on. So everyone except me and Owen go back on TOT. Good thing this is January and there are no lines!!! After TOT, we went to see the Beauty and the Beast Show. I am so sorry for you all that love this, but we thought it was TERRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Actually it became a joke for the rest of the trip. The beast was so bad LOL, “ROARRRRRR” !!!!!!

We did a few things that we had never done before, like The Great Movie Ride, and The Animation Studio. We ALL LOVED the Animation Studio. It was SO AWESOME!!

We all were taught how to draw Eeyore and they came out so great! The kids wanted to do it again, but we said let’s go do some other stuff…. They could have spent the whole day doing that!! I was so excited when I learned on the Disney Dream Cruise, Kid’s Club, they have an Animation Studio!! So, the kids CAN do it as many times as they want there!! We saw Lotso, who was adorable and smelled like strawberries!! Then it was time for lunch.

We headed to Sci-Fi and we were excited to eat here again and show it to Chris and the girls. Because Chris had lost the dining plan (I couldn’t believe they wouldn’t let him add it to his extended stay) we bought their lunch for them…. It was going to be an expensive 3 days for him!! Everyone liked the food and eating in the cars. Again, our server was awesome. I have to say, on our past trip, we had the WORST service, and on this one we never had a bad experience. It is so hit or miss!! I can say that when your service is good, it makes for such a better dining experience. Even if the food is great and you have bad service, it makes me not want to go back.

After lunch, Chris, Steph, and I wanted to head back to the hotel. Wayne, Holly, and the boys wanted to stay and do some more rides so we split up for a bit. It’s a good thing they stayed because look who they met!!!!!!?????

We ended up waiting 30 minutes for a bus…. By the time we got back to the hotel, the rest of the gang was heading back and they had NO WAIT for the bus…. So much for my relaxing time at the pool! We all hit the Jacuzzi (the kids and Uncle Chris’s favorite place) I have forgotten to mention, each night, Chris would go to the Jacuzzi and sit there for hours!! He met lot’s of friends and we teased him about it the whole trip!!

When we got back toour room to change for dinner look what Maria had left for us!?

She was so awesome!!

I called Disney reservations and was able to add them on to most of our reservations. The only thing we couldn’t add them to was our 1900 park fare on our last night. So we ended up changing plans and decided to go back to DHS on our last day and watch Fantasmic. I was a little bummed because I really wanted 1900 park fare, and to see the Electric Light Parade, but Wayne and the kids all wanted more DHS and Fantasmic. (which we have never seen!!)

We got ready for dinner and before long heard, “Cab’s are here!” so after a quick cab to the CR, we were at the Wave for our dinner reservation. I LOVE the Wave! I am SO glad after a year of thinking of this place and telling everyone about it that it was still so great. We ALL loved it. We got a round booth and all enjoyed our meals and the service was perfect.

Everything about the Wave was perfect!!!! We all either got the beef or pork tenderloin. My niece asked for applesauce and they didn’t have any, so the server went up to the food court, and got her some. NOW THAT IS SERVICE!!!!!! The Wave is a MUST do for us on every trip. After dinner we debated the whole cab vs. walking to the MK and taking the bus back so we decided to walk over to the MK and bus it…. BIG MISTAKE! The MK was a MADHOUSE. The bus queues were INSANE. We actually turned around, walked back to the CR and got a taxi. It was then that we ALL decided on our next trip to Disney, we would stay at The Contemporary Resort! We spent so much of our trip eating here or at the MK, it just makes sense that this would be the most convenient place for us. (Of course now our next trip is booked and we are NOT staying at the CR and we are NOT eating at the Wave!! LOL)
Well that was our day 5! Only two more days left on this one and then I am starting my double whammy Pre Trippie!

 

[longing2Batdisney]

Great update! what a shame that Chis and Stephanie has to stranded at Disney with you guys
if I had to be stranded anywhere that is the place to be!
just really sad their employers needed to be so understanding about it!

2013 you will get to plan your stay for the Contemporary!!
that is something fun to look forward to after the cruise!

BTW: did Myles like the ToT? I had to laugh out loud when you decribed your wait (that is me!); Ashton and Danny just looked at me and Danny told Ashton mommy is silly, she is reading about WDW. Did you know that ToT has a chicken door; I wanted to see it in 2001 so I did the walk through with everyone and DBF, Dayne, her son, and I got out at the chicken door.

Have a great day!

 

[jngwright]

I'm glad that Chris and Wayne got some PDA in, despite the sign.... I'm sorry that they got so much guff for having to stay-that stinks! We weren't able to add the dining plan, either, when we extended our stay one. It was a pain-I wish they would let you in situations like that. Were you a little bummed that you weren't going to have "alone" family time? Or were you okay with it?

I have been eyeing The Wave. I see they are doing a breakfast buffet, now. Have you tried that?

Your TOT story was great. The first time the boys rode it, they were 4 and Evan got done and said "that ride NOT for kids!" They will go on it every time, but don't love it. RNRC is another story..they are fanatics! I was a wreck the first time they rode it, because we were alone-so I had to ride behind them. I kept imagining that their harnesses weren't secure and they would go flying off into space

Those empty Streets of America...it is always like that back there. I wonder if they will reimagine it one of these days??

Take care-can't wait to hear more about your last 2 days, and then PLAN PLAN PLAN with you. I have been updating my PTR for November, but I am so jazzed about F&W/5K that I can't concentrate!

TTFN twin

 

[KatMark]

Great updates, Nickie. Looks like you all had a great day at the Studios. Wasn't the Animation Studios great? We did it for the first time (we got to draw Donald Duck).

Sorry about the weather screwing up some of the plans to get home. Was that when we got hit with the blizzard (yes, I live in Chicago)? If it was, those bosses who had a fit were nuts...there was nothing flying, driving or anything else.

We have yet to try The Wave; we keep talking about it and just never find the room to fit it in. But you are tempting me to change something this trip...I just don't know what?

Good luck with that double pre-trip stuff (it's rough ).

 

[chicagoshannon]

I had no idea they had a Darth Vader and Storm Trooper meet and greet at DHS. If I would have known that we might have gone to Disney in May instead of June. Ah well.

Sounds like your trip just gets better and better.

Are you doing a PTR for your cruise?

 

[brdlyleon]

I've been gone for awhile since I just came back from SB at WDW but I am back and all caught up!! Your family's bosses sound like a lot of trouble...and idiots, I am sorry to say. So glad both your children rode ToT, I HATE it, but I'm glad I can say I hate it because I've been on it. I am def. going to try he wave next time!