Could the Dream Turn the Grump into a Believer? Charleston Update 10/13

[wigdoutdismom]

Hey!!! Happy THREE month mark!!! WOOT WOOT!!!!

A day late but still excited!!!

 

[MeMom]

Wonder who that lovely Tennessee teacher was.....

Wait a minute now, I said lovely time, not lovely teacher.
The teacher is actually kinda homely.

What's happening in three months?
Oh, yeah, I remember....
August 15, September 15, October 15 bright and early in the a.m. - 3 months exactly for us.

 

[MinnieMouse880]

Hi Fellow Okie! Great Trip report so far, love hearing about
your drive from Oklahoma to Florida since that is what we are planning
to do Can't wait to hear more about your trip!!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Hey!!! Happy THREE month mark!!! WOOT WOOT!!!!

We're under 3 months now!

Ok, so I'm a huge slacker and have been MIA for quite awhile now. I need details on this newest trip of our Michelle! Is Don cool with it?

Don't worry about being MIA Kelli, heck I've been a slacker on my own report - it's been a crazy busy summer!

Don seems to be fine with the October trip! I had initally talked about taking Jared for a week and that wasn't going over so well, but when HD and I decided to share a room (and she got a crazy good deal renting points from a friend) and I showed him how cheaply I could do the trip he relented.

Dates are October 14th - 19th, split stay right now between WLV & SSR, still holding out hope that we get one or the other for all 5 nights. Doing MNSSHP on the 16th with Wig'd & Jen and several other DISers too. Not to mention F&W! It's going to be so much fun!

Don't know about anyone else....but I'm ready for another installment!

Say 'Hi' to Iowa for me...I haven't been there in about 30 years!

.

Lol! I know, I know, I'm such a slacker!! Thought I would have time while we were in Iowa to get one done, but I didn't I want to try and get caught up on my subscribed threads this morning, then get an update done this afternoon - that's the plan anyway!

A day late but still excited!!!

I'm excited too! Did you and Jen talk about ADRs at all this weekend? I gotta figure those out before there is nothing left

Wait a minute now, I said lovely time, not lovely teacher.
The teacher is actually kinda homely.

What's happening in three months?
Oh, yeah, I remember....
August 15, September 15, October 15 bright and early in the a.m. - 3 months exactly for us.

I think she's a lovely teacher I'm pretty sure that she is the only one that thinks she's homely

Yup, yup we're counting it down, it'll be here before we know it!

Hi Fellow Okie! Great Trip report so far, love hearing about
your drive from Oklahoma to Florida since that is what we are planning
to do Can't wait to hear more about your trip!!

Hi there! Am I reading your ticker right, this is your first family trip? How exciting!

Please don't let my whining about the drive scare you, I'm just NOT a road trip person. I have a friend that drives from here every trip and they think nothing of it, it's just not for me...

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Don't worry about being MIA Kelli, heck I've been a slacker on my own report - it's been a crazy busy summer!

Don seems to be fine with the October trip! I had initally talked about taking Jared for a week and that wasn't going over so well, but when HD and I decided to share a room (and she got a crazy good deal renting points from a friend) and I showed him how cheaply I could do the trip he relented.

Dates are October 14th - 19th, split stay right now between WLV & SSR, still holding out hope that we get one or the other for all 5 nights. Doing MNSSHP on the 16th with Wig'd & Jen and several other DISers too. Not to mention F&W! It's going to be so much fun!

It sounds like an amazing trip and a wonderful opportunity to have yourself some "me" time Michelle. I know how much of a dedicated mom you are so I'm really happy for you!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Ok, when I last left you we had gotten checked into our room at AKL and spent some time exploring the resort. By now the rain had stopped, and after seeing the pool the family was itching to try it out. Don realized that he left his sunglasses in the car, so while he went to get them the boys went to change and I busied myself looking through the gift shop. I love this store, one of the most unique in all of WDW in my opinion! I was really just on a mission to find one small item though. When I was here last May I saw a cute little key chain that had several small Mickey heads on it in different animal prints. I didn't buy it then and had been kicking myself ever since. I had told myself that if they still carried it, that keychain would be my first purchase of the trip. Sadly, I couldn't find it

It wasn't long before Don was back from the car and we made our way to our room to change. We got to listen to the boys telling us to hurry up for awhile but soon we were all ready to hit the pool! The boys headed straight for the slide and Don and I headed straight for the bar.

We chatted with the bartender while she made our drinks and she said she had talked to a lot of Oklahoma people that week, we must have been invading the place! Once we had our drinks we found a couple of lounge chairs and took a load off. I can't remember what I ordered, but it was tasty

Pretty view

We relaxed for a bit and finished our cocktails, then we went to see what the kids were up to. We found them still at the slide

Once they saw us, they came swimming over. This is another picture from the trip that I just love.

Most days at home my boys only tolerate each other in small doses, but on vacation they really have a good time together. One of the many reasons I love to travel away from home with them!

I had to test out the underwater setting on my new waterproof camera, so the boys posed for that too.

And here is what happens when you forget to take it off of the underwater setting

Lovely coloring, huh? And this was after I tried to fix it in photoshop!

Don had to be silly and get his picture taken too

Then I put the camera away and just enjoyed playing with my family in the pool. It was one of the nicer afternoons we have had in awhile. No place to be, nothing of any importance to do, just being silly and having fun. Eventually the boys started to get hungry, so we dried off and went over to Mara to get them something to eat.

Continued in the next post

 

[SoonerGirl]

Justin ordered chicken strips and fries

He thought they were good, but was disappointed in the honey mustard dipping sauce that they have. I have never found a honey mustard that this kid didn't like, but the Heinz kind that WDW carries now is not high on his list. He was pretty bummed later when we got on the cruise ship and saw that was the brand they had there too....

Jared ordered the cheese flatbread

It was hit!

I of course, had to grab a box of these beauties

Oh, zebra domes, how I love the! Don and I had a dinner reservation later, so I limited myself to two of them. My family does not share my love for this delectable dessert, so I was able to save the rest of them for later - score!

I must have taken this picture while we were eating, as I know this is from the tables outside of Mara.

Properly nourished, the boys were ready to swim again. Don and I left them to it and went up to get showered and ready for dinner.

We would be dining tonight at Jiko and I was soooo excited to take the Grump here, it's one of my favorite restaurants in all of WDW and I just knew he was going to love it. As we were waiting for our table I tried again to take a picture of the light fixtures in here

Still not a great shot, but better than I've gotten in the past!

Don ordered a glass of wine, and I got a cosmo, then we waited.......

Service was quite slow, but it really didn't bother me much, we weren't in a hurry and honestly it was nice to have a little break with just the two of us. While we talked, I tried to convince Don that it might be fun for just he and I to come sometime for the Food & Wine Festival. He said he would love to come back to WDW............once we have grandchildren. **sigh** I thought maybe we had made a little progress that day, but maybe not.

Enough of that though, let's get to the important part of this update - the food!

We ordered the barbecue chicken flatbread with apple-jicama slaw for an appetizer, very tasty. I loved the tangy taste of the bbq mixed with the crunch of the slaw.

For our entrees I think Don got the African perch

And I ordered the filet

Even though I had heard that you could still get the filet with the mac & cheese, I decided to try it served with the risotto. I missed the mac & cheese though, it just wasn't the same without it. I mentioned this to our server and she said they warned the new chef when he changed to the risotto that it probably wouldn't go over well. She said they got so many complaints that they had to make the mac & cheese available again. They don't advertise that though, you have to ask for it. Not sure why

We got crème brulee for dessert, I thought we would share, but Don didn't want any so I had to finish it myself - darn!

It was while we were waiting for dessert that Don dropped the words that took the wind out of my sails for the day. He told me he didn't want to make me mad, but for the money, he had had much better meals. I was crushed, I just knew he was going to love Jiko, but he was determined not to enjoy anything at WDW too much I just told him that maybe he ordered the wrong thing and left it at that. I wasn't going to let that statement ruin the day for me.

Before we left we asked our server to take our picture, I really love this photo of us

Once we left the restaurant, we swung by the pool to see if we could find the boys. We found their stuff on a lounge chair but didn't see them anywhere. Eventually we found them and they proclaimed that they were hungry again. So we ran into Mara and got them an order of chicken fingers and fries to share. Don also bought a bottle of wine. We took everything back to the room. The boys ate and watched TV and Don poured himself a glass of wine and he and I went outside to enjoy the balcony. This was another thing that I loved about being in a deluxe hotel - having the balcony was awesome!

We chatted for awhile and watched a family in the kiddy pool below us having fun. It was a beautiful night and I was just trying to soak in the atmosphere. At one point Don leaned over and gave me a kiss and told me that he had really enjoyed our dinner. I think he knew how much he had hurt my feelings earlier. I just smiled and we didn't talk about it again.

We must have sat out there for a good hour, maybe longer, but eventually we drug ourselves inside and got ready for bed. I went to sleep dreaming of Earl of Sandwich and World of Disney, I couldn't wait to get to Downtown Disney the next day!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

So much to comment on...

First off, your pictures are wonderful!

That AKL pool is beautiful! Love the picture of the boys! Glad to see you got to use your underwater feature. I think the picture if the 3 of you is wonderful even if the coloring is a little off. Forgetting to change the settings back is the main reason I stay in "auto".

All your Mara food looked really good! It's a good thing I don't have boys though.... they can really put back some food!

Love the umbrella picture. I'd love to be sitting under one right now!

Your Jiko dinner sounds wonderful. DH and I rarely get to dine alone. And you both look great in that picture. That's a very pretty dress. I love turquoise! You should frame that picture!

I was kinda teary eyed reading about your evening though. I know how you feel wanting your family to love WDW as much as you do. It can be hard when they just don't feel the magic like you do. At least he knew it meant a lot to you and wasn't obnoxious about telling you that he wasn't in love with it. It sounds like maybe it's the money part that bothers him. He must be a conservative spender. Have you guys done the dining plan before? Maybe he would like it better if he could just order whatever and not get a bill? Just a thought???

Sounds like a very relaxing evening on the balcony though. Surely he enjoyed AKL after that awesome pool and the balcony? I hope you were able to win him over more as the trip went on.

 

[firecracker725]

Joining in, if that's okay.

We used to live in Fort Smith, AR, and our families are in MS, so I know how badly that drive on I40 can be. So. Boring.

That filet looks amazing. Makes me want to get in the car and drive to Orlando!

 

[Poolrat]

A lovely afternoon indeed. I am sorry the Grump was Grumpy but at least he knew it meant something to you.

The Grump I know does not even want to step foot in Disney ever again. Too bad, I will just go without him.


I am sad I won't see everyone in Oct. But on the bright side, I will be there before you guys so I only have 2 months 1 week and 2 days !!!!!

 

[Jillpie]

Fantastic update, thanks for taking the time to entertain us! Love AKL and love going down that slide, I'm right there with your boys, so much fun, it really is amazingly fun given it's small size.

 

[Wicket's Mom]

What a lovely day & evening that you had. It's a blow when one feels that everything is really working out, but it really isn't.

At least you get to go on your own, I don't know if my DH would be agreeable to that. If not at least he will go when I prod him.

Waiting to see what he thinks of the cruise.

 

[KatMark]

Michelle, your pictures at the AKL pool are great (65 days until we are there). Our boys are the same way...they barely tolerated each other at home when they were little (actually, they tolerate each other even less now that they are older), but on vacation they got along beautifully!

We enjoyed Mara the one time we ate there (although I'm with your family...don't care for the Zebra Domes at all).

I am so sorry Don/Grump is not budging on the Disney thing. Well, I'm sure you'll get lots of us to volunteer to go with you in his place.

 

[Lovemy3babes]

I'm glad the family had so much fun at the pool. I love downtime like that on vacation! I'm sorry Don didn't love Jiko though. That's a bummer and I would feel exactly as you felt Michelle. My husband doesn't even have desire to try to like Disney. He just refuses to go. Oh well. I'm glad your night ended on a good note though.

 

[LilAnn]

I absolutely love the pics at the pool - especially the one of your boys (in and out of the water). Everyone looks so happy to be on vacation.

Your pics of Jiko are making my mouth water. Bummer since I am at work and since it is 2:30 am, there is definitely not any place I can get some good food here.

Sad to hear that the wonderful meal didn't sway him anymore. I feel some of your pain though. We are heading to Orlando next month to check out WWoHP and I had to do some major convincing to get my husband to agree to a day at Disney. I told him that there was no way we could be in Orlando and NOT take our little girl to Disney. She would know as soon as we set foot in the airport that we were near Disney. I hope he isn't turning into a "grump" as well.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Michelle, I loved reading about your relaxing afternoon at the AKL pool -- I could almost imagine myself there with a drink in hand!

My two are the same way on vacation -- they only tolerate each other at home, but actually have fun together when we are somewhere else.

Dinner at Jiko looks fabulous -- shame on Don for being such a Disney grump, though, with his comments about not going until there are grandchildren and the value of dinner. Other than that, the day seems wonderful!

 

[cherokeemamma]

Great update Michelle! What a wonderful relaxing day you had. I know sometimes we get so caught up in going to the parks and such that I forget that Disney is a great place to relax too! Great to see your boys having so much fun together. My kids are the same way they have so much fun together when we get away from the day to day routines. I love your underwater shots!

I must say I am so jealous that you all are doing a girls only trip. I have always wanted to do that. A couple of years ago I ran into this group of ladies while in line at the French bakery. There must have been about 12 - 15 of them and they do an annual trip to Disney. They had matching shirts with a group name (which I can't remember) and a picture on the shirt. One of the ladies told me that they take the most embarrassing picture (of one lady) from the previous year and put that on their shirt. This picture was one of the woman bent over in the oven with her butt sticking out and she is looking so shocked as she is just starting to turn around. It was pretty funny. They were all having the best time...laughing, talking and as we say in GA, having a BIG time. I know you all will have so much fun!

Looking forward to your next installment...

TTFN
Darlene

 

[HappyontheLake]

We got crème brulee for dessert, I thought we would share, but Don didn't want any so I had to finish it myself - darn!

It was while we were waiting for dessert that Don dropped the words that took the wind out of my sails for the day. He told me he didn't want to make me mad, but for the money, he had had much better meals. I was crushed, I just knew he was going to love Jiko, but he was determined not to enjoy anything at WDW too much I just told him that maybe he ordered the wrong thing and left it at that. I wasn't going to let that statement ruin the day for me.

While I like Jiko -- I much much much prefer Sanaa over at AKL Kidani. But I do LOVE the creme brulee at Jiko, good stuff that!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Such a shame that Don didn't enjoy that gorgeous food...but each to their own.

I saw that you and Trish were just missing each other at the World this year....not to hijack your thread but I'm thinking of heading to the World again for the first week in October 2013. Any chance that you ladies would like to do another DisMeet in that year....with or without your resistors?

 

[jenbear123]

What a lovely day! MMMmmmmm zebra domes It looks like you had a lovely dinner at Jiko. Too bad your DH didn't agree but he tried to make it better at the end of the day! That's at least some bonus points.