Day Five: Last full day...or is it?
Cast: the gang, as pirates and princesses
Monday Sept 22:
I woke up at seven again even though it was very quiet at Royal Palm, I remember the first thing I thought of was that I actually missed the tinkling plates and cups and happy children of Sugar Loaf even more now.
I snuck out onto the balcony and watched the sun rise over the Castle, very, very beautiful sight. Inspiring. On a morning like that, you feel like anything might be possible.
I had started packing up some of the stuff we'd bought (wayyyy too much LOL) didn't know exactly how we were going to get it home. DH looked at me at one point and said "Honey this isn't carry on luggage!" I figured I'd find a way.
I went to get some coffee, and as I passed the concierge desk I saw a familiar face, James, one of my favorite concierges from Sugar Loaf was at one of the desks. He greeted me warmly by name and said "I'm not used to seeing you over here!" and I whispered that we liked SL better and he was alarmed and said said "Oh, no, I'm so sorry!"
We didn't talk about what happened but we did chat a little bit about other things and I felt cheered.
I poured some coffee and grabbed a danish and sat in the lounge alone, I was surprised how empty it was of families, most of the people there were business folks and the atmosphere was totally different as a result of that. Saw a couple of honeymoon couples, but other than that it was a pretty serious, and professional feeling environment.
I finally headed back to the room and everyone was stirring. There was a gloom in the room that I hadn't expected, I felt very obvious vibes that no one wanted to go home tomorrow. Especially not ending on the note of the way we (3 of the 4 of us, Dad was fine wherever he was LOL) felt at Royal Palm.
We were headed into the Magic Kingdom, even though we'd heard Mondays were bad, crowds had been non-existant on week days so we decided to go for it.
Over breakfast, my DD expressed that she wished our trip wasn't going to be over so soon. I told her that I understood how she felt, I felt like we just got there and it was time to go already. DH chimed in that he didn't want to see it end either. I looked up at him and said "Don't say things like that, I could extend our trip in two seconds!"
Just before we'd left, we found out that he had two extra vacation days that had carried over from the previous year that we were unaware of. I was now hatching ideas in my brain. He looked at me nervously.
"My employer is expecting me back Wednesday..." he said sternly, my husband is SUPER concientious about his job, he's never taken a sick day in a year there, he's a very, very hard worker. Too hard, sometimes. Every once in awhile he needs to be reminded that you have to stop and smell the flowers, I think that's why destiny paired us two: I remind him.
My dd cried, she'd picked right up on the fact that I wanted to stay longer too. I told her that DH had to do what was best for work, that we would come back another time. Besides, we had the whole day ahead of us.
DH went all quiet on me, and we headed off to the MK. We rode Buzz and the TTA again, tried the Indy speedway which I hadn't done since I was a kid (fun to me now that I can't drive anymore!) they rode the carousel twice, we went on Pooh and then we headed for Dumbo.
I usually sit Dumbo out but I wanted a moment to chat with my husband. So dad and DD went in another car and I sat down beside DH.
I know him so well, I could tell that he really wanted to ask his boss for the extra days. I also knew that he'd mentioned previously that no one else was on vacation this week and likely it wouldn't be a problem for him to take two more days.
But DH is very, very shy and he hates to ask anyone, for anything. I could see how much he wanted to stay too, and so I asked him what he was thinking.
He said he was thinking that he'd love to stay two more days, but didn't want to disappoint dd if his boss said no. I said "she doesn't have to know, and it couldn't possibly hurt to ask, could it?"
"No...couldn't hurt..." he said, and for the first time all morning, his eyes lit up.
I had no doubt I could find us a room somewhere, and change our flights (for a fee, but we didn't care!) so all we had to do was get a hold of his boss.
I took dd into Tinkerbell's to distract her while DH talked to Dad about if he'd want to stay. Of course, Dad said he'd love to, and so DH called work. Boss was in a meeting, so he left a message.
Not knowing how long it'd take to hear back, we headed off to Cosmic Rays for some fries, left Dad and DD at a table and went outside to make another cell phone call.
Just as I was about to dial Northwest to see about potential flight changes, DH's boss got through to us. He asked what was up, DH explained we were in the MK and that, if it wasn't going to inconvienience anyone and could be arranged, he would really like to extend his trip by two days, he had the time saved up, etc etc.
My heart pounded, it was such a HUGE thing for very shy DH to ask for the time, I hoped his boss would be okay with it.
Dh stood there uttering very cryptic "uhh huh, mmm hmm's, and then said "I'd be back Friday, not Monday, mm hmm, I sure will, thank you very much sir!" and he hung up. Then he grinned.
"He said to say hi to Mickey and Minnie for him!" Dh said, and I squealed with joy. We were going to stay two more days!!!
"Okay, I have to call the airline and the resort, go get dd some fries and I'll take care of the rest." I hugged and thanked DH, I knew it was pushing his comfort zone to do what he'd just done (which was good for him though!) and it meant so much to me. He got a big thank you kiss too
I called Northwest, and since our fares had been booked so long ago, all we had to do was pay a change fee to switch flights. I was able to go from a 3:30 flight Tuesday to a 5:30 flight Thursday, no problem! Now all I had to do was get a room.
I had asked DH if he wanted to switch resorts since we were paying change fees to the airline but he said he didn't care, if we could stay at GF, go for it. I called CRO and got left on hold for more than 10 minutes, so I hung up and went into Mickey's Star Traders. I asked the lady behind a non-busy counter if she could help me get in touch with the concierge desk at the GF, and in about twenty seconds I was connected!
I explained the situation to the concierge and she put me on hold, I was getting worried because she was gone so long. I had asked her if there were any rooms in Sugar Loaf available, but when she returned, she'd checked with the room assigner to see if we could keep our main building room.
When I explained to her that I didn't mind moving, I'd really rather go back to SL, she was puzzled, but said it was no problem. She decided to give us a new and seperate ressie for the two nights, but she honored our AAA discount price!
I was so happy, no only were we staying longer, but we were GOING BACK TO SUGAR LOAF!!!! Wooo hoooooooo!!!!
My husband and I were absolutely beaming by the time I got back to the table, and I let him be the one to tell DD. When we told her she squealed and hugged him really, really tight and thanked him over and over, it was so cute. And DH had a big confidence boost cause he'd asked, and it was no problem for his employer (thank you, Mr. E!!! )
I filled the gang in on our plans, new flight, etc. I had to get a hold of my ex so he'd know that dd wouldn't be home wednesday, but I kept getting his voicemail. I left an apologetic message telling him that I couldn't get a hold of him and we had the chance to do something really special for DD and that he could keep her extra days when we got back if he wanted (when I talked to him later, he was fine with it all.) I gave him my dad's cell # where he could reach us any time and we all very happily ate lunch, wind back in our sails!
After our snack, we headed over to Adventureland and rode Aladdin. Was great to practically walk on these rides that usually have such a long wait time! After that we went toward POTC and caught the very end of some kind of singing pirate show.
We wanted to see it all so we found out the next showtime and went onto the ride. We all sang the song heartily as the ride went along, we had a great time!
Did some shopping, got some pirate hats after the ride and went back out front for the pirate show. We had front row seats when they came back out, banging their drums. They picked DD to play the tambourine and even gave her a piece of gold 'treasure' to keep. They pointed at us during the show and teased us a lot it was hilarious ("There's only one thing a pirate is really afraid of..." they said "WOMEN!" and they all pointed at me! LOL. They did a hilarious version of "blow the man down" about how much it costs Dad to take his family to WDW (Pointed at DH a lot during that one!)"Buy him a hook and buy him a peg, cause this trips gonna cost him an arm and a leg!" LOL
At the end, they gave DD an official "Pirate for a day" certificate saying she was a member of the crew of the Black Pearl! (We were bummed there was no Jack Sparrow walking around Adventureland, but we suggested it to absolutely every CM in sight so maybe someday there will be!) They autographed it and posed for pictures. They call themselves "The Rusty Cutlass" look for them in Adventureland if you can! They play right outside the entrance to POTC.
The pirate show was such a hoot, we just had the best time at it. We went on the Jungle Cruise again, shopped, saw a few characters, shopped some more, and by that time we were about to get caught in the 3 o'clock parade crowd. We managed to skirt around it and cut through the shops, did some shopping in the Emporium, and then headed back to the GF.
I had bought the deluxe Cinderella dress and cape from the Disney Catalog for dd and needed some time to get her all dolled up.
Oh, I forgot to add before that I'd had a scare in the morning when I stopped in to check on our PS time for the Gala dinner. When I asked the concierge what time dinner was, he said that our reservation had been cancelled.
It was then that I realized that the other concierge had cancelled the dinner reservation for that night, and not the breakfast reservation for the following morning as I'd asked her. I panicked momentarily, but then they were able to get us in at an even earlier time, which I was grateful for. It would have been a DISASTER if they'd been unable to fix it, because DD found out about the dinner when we checked in (I had planned to surprise her at the last minute but the concierge who checked us in mentioned the Cinderella dinner on the way to SL.)
Moral of the story: If you have more than one PS at a particular restaurant, at different times, be SURE of which one they cancel. Accidents do happen!
Dh put on a nice button down shirt and I put on a little flowered dress (and dd made me wear my "design your own crown" that we had made in the gift shop that day, what fun that was!) DD looked so sweet in her gown, everyone stopped her on the way to dinner to tell her what a lady she looked like.
What cracked me up totally was that this VERY energetic child, who always more skips than walks, took slow, regal, measured steps all the way from our room to the restaurant, sceptor in one hand, and nodded serenely to everyone who said hello ROFL!!! So out of character, she was really 'in costume'. It was a hoot!
I was looking forward to the food very much at 1900 based on our last experience there, and I was not at all disappointed! I was surprised to see that they moved some things around in the main dining room to cram more tables in, which made getting in and out of the dining room...er...interesting, but do-able. My timing was off for this meal, however, and I missed dd's first interaction with Prince Charming, drat it! He did promise to come back to the table before we left to see me and DH who were off getting food.
At this point I must brag about my husband: I always knew he was thoughtful and caring but on this trip, he really outdid himself. At every turn, he would do whatever he could to make things easier for me so I'd have more energy. We had just arrived at the table and I knew dd wouldn't want to go get food out of fear of missing anybody, so Dad and DH went to the buffet and I planned to go get dd's plate, then bring it back, then get my own (working with one hand only at these buffets is a challenge, lemme tell you!)
Well, five minutes later DH and dad are back. Dad has his plate and...DH is holding a plate loaded down with dd's favorite foods! He didn't miss anything, he had the mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, her favorite fruits, all of it. Dad and I were really impressed, and dd was grateful as she was suddenly starving! Only after he was sure DD was all set, did DH go to get his own food, and as he did he held my plate too while I pointed out what I wanted, so he could carry it to the table for me. All together now...."awwwwwwwwwww!" I am very lucky to have him!!!
Now I know some of you probably want to know all about the food so I will try my best here. There was a large salad bar with pasta and potato salads as well as fruits and the standard salad fare and soups. For entrees, there was lasagna (dh loves it) some chicken dishes, (sorry my recall isn't better!) all kinds of potato and vegtable dishes. I went straight for the prime rib LOL and it was fabulous. The big surprise though this time was they had a small area set up where two chefs were making pasta dishes before your eyes, and let me tell you, they were exquisite!!!
I have never liked Alfredo before, but the shrimp and penne alfredo they had was simply out of this world! Not overly cheesy, more of a creamy, spicy sauce, and it was PHENOMENAL! They also had a penne with roasted vegtables in a tomato sauce that was beyond belief. These two dishes is what I ate most of, even over the prime rib! I complemented the chef on it, and it's funny the way that guys talk LOL DH and the chef discussed it like they were talking about sports:
DH: "That alfredo is all wrong, man. Just amazing. You're the man."
Chef: "Oh yeah, I know. I'm all over it."
ROFL!!! Hilarious!
The apple brown betty was just as good as I remembered it. I was a little disappointed that they were having trouble with the ice cream machine, it spit some kind of watery stuff out onto my plate and I said "eeeuuu" and the food staff guy said "Let me try the other spigot" and I was like, "I can't eat this now!" LOL So I got more and just had it with a touch of whipped cream. DD had a little of a brownie but was too full from her regular food for dessert.
The children's food offerings were excellent as usual. Spaghetti, pizza, mac and cheese, hot dogs, Smuckers Uncrustables pb&J sandwiches, all the things kids love to eat.
Dessert bar for adults included the brown betty (my favorite thing there) bread pudding, fruit toppings, whipped cream, fudge, and the ice cream (if it'd been working).
Man, I'm getting hungry all of a sudden LOL.
The characters were great, Fairy Godmother was in the lobby before we got into the dining room, Susie and Perla (mice) were wonderful with dd and the prince and Cinderella were....sooooooo young! The youngest I've ever seen as far as I could tell, and they were great. DD snuck 2, yes two kisses on the cheek (I've got to watch that girl!) for Prince Charming and he was very nice to her. So there were five cinderella characters in all at dinner. Overall, though, I definitely have to say that based on our experience, this trip Princess Storybook was the best character meal for the interaction with the characters.
After dinner, we went into the lobby to let our food settle and listen to the band. DD danced, we got great videos of her, and then she pulled my dad up out of his chair and they danced together. She's bouncing off the walls, he's spinning her to and fro and the song the band was playing? "Don't get around much anymore." Let me tell you that makes for great home video LOL.
I had been looking at the artists in the lobby all week, and suddenly it occurred to me that we should get dd's portrait drawn. She looked so sweet in her gown, and she was full, happy, and had just danced for 10 minutes. If there was ever a time to ask her to sit for a portrait, this would be it!
She agreed, and I was very happy with the sample work the artist had up. She talked me into going for the largest portrait (16X20) and I have to tell you, the artist was amazing. She managed to capture the exact expression, spark in my daughter's eyes, and even the shine pattern her hair has when the light hits it. DD got a little antsy at the end, but she was very, very good, and in the time it took to be drawn dozens of people stopped to watch. DH and I couldn't help but get misty thinking about this frozen moment in time, she is never going to be seven again, but we have preserved her innocence and sweetness in that portrait thanks to the artist.
It came out so good, and the best moment was when dd got up and saw herself and said "Wow, that's me?" I kissed her and whispered in her ear that see, she was such a very pretty girl, and she beamed DH whispered to me "I'm imagining someday, when she's grown, looking at this picture and remembering this night." Even he was getting emotional. My dad was in awe of the way the artist captured her spirit in the picture.
I took the receipt while the artist packaged up the portrait for safe travel home (she did a great job) When I got into line in Sandy cove to pay, I just burst into tears! LOL the poor women behind the counter looked at me, and I said "I'm sorry, I just had my daughter's portrait done and it's so pretty!" and they all said "awww" and were sympathetic to my emotions. Dh had a few tears in his eyes too as we took the portrait, thanked the artist (and tipped her very well, she was surprised and thanked us very much) I saw that my dad slipped something into her hand too, he was so thrilled with the portrait as well, I knew he wanted it, but I didn't know if my mom would let him hang it anywhere in their house (looooong story, hard to explain) so I told him that I'd hang it over our piano and he can sit in my living room as long as he likes to look at it. He replied, "I'll take the kid home, you keep the portrait!" LOL
We had intended to go into MK to see FITS but we heard the crowds were hefty and Dad was pretty tired. So we decided to watch it from our balcony. We got back to the room to see the beds had been turned down, and DD says to me "Mom, there's something over here..." and she takes me to the sinks.
I look at the counter, and then, I scream.
There it is, a mythical TOWEL ANIMAL!!!
I hadn't held out any hope we'd get any, even though I had tipped the housekeeping staff daily (and twice!) but there it was, as precious as could be, a little white duckling made out of washcloths! DH fell in love with it instantly and so did I, I was so excited. I hadn't told them about towel animals because I didn't want them to be disappointed if we didn't get any, what a wonderful surprise! It was the only one we got all trip, but it was so special and such a treat. So in love with it was my family that I immediately told them I would offer to buy the towels from the hotel if they'd let us keep it. They were so attached to it already, I knew they'd be so sad if we left it.
I named the ducky Snowball. Partially because its head looked like one, and also because I thought we'd had a "Snowball's chance" of ever getting a towel animal LOL. That's Disney Magic for you!
It was time for FITS, so we put on some bug spray (skeeters were biting around the GF!) and went out to the balcony to watch the show. I wish they would pipe in the music, the old timey music they play at the marina at the GF just didn't match FITS. If it'd been turned off, we probably could've heard the music from the MK cause we could hear the train whistles clear as day!
Dad could even see the show from the bed! He relaxed afterward and DH and I decided to reward DD for being so good for her portrait by honoring her request and taking her for a late night swim. We had a ball, the three of us, playing in the quiet pool. Lots of families that night, nothing like it had been on the weekend, and we had a great time.
DD and Dad were conked out right after we got back, but DH and I were hungry so we ordered some chicken soup from room service, it was delicious and just the little something we needed to fall asleep.
I was just floating, so excited about our "bonus days", we'd be able to pack so much into them with the non-existant lines! And best of all we'd be back at Sugar Loaf.
Which reminded me, I had to finish packing up so we would be ready to change rooms. I'd asked for late check out but hoped it wouldn't be necessary and maybe we could get into our room right away so we could go back to the Studios. I was surprised how much fun we were having there this trip, and I couldn't wait to go back.
I also knew I needed to do a couple loads of laundry if we were staying extra, so I planned to investigate that when I woke up.
Happy doesn't describe how I felt when I fell asleep that night, all of us, were thrilled, excited, and ready for the fun our bonus days would bring!!!
Coming up next: Day six: Back to "The Loaf": Studios, and Chefs de France!
Cast: the gang, as pirates and princesses
Monday Sept 22:
I woke up at seven again even though it was very quiet at Royal Palm, I remember the first thing I thought of was that I actually missed the tinkling plates and cups and happy children of Sugar Loaf even more now.
I snuck out onto the balcony and watched the sun rise over the Castle, very, very beautiful sight. Inspiring. On a morning like that, you feel like anything might be possible.
I had started packing up some of the stuff we'd bought (wayyyy too much LOL) didn't know exactly how we were going to get it home. DH looked at me at one point and said "Honey this isn't carry on luggage!" I figured I'd find a way.
I went to get some coffee, and as I passed the concierge desk I saw a familiar face, James, one of my favorite concierges from Sugar Loaf was at one of the desks. He greeted me warmly by name and said "I'm not used to seeing you over here!" and I whispered that we liked SL better and he was alarmed and said said "Oh, no, I'm so sorry!"
We didn't talk about what happened but we did chat a little bit about other things and I felt cheered.
I poured some coffee and grabbed a danish and sat in the lounge alone, I was surprised how empty it was of families, most of the people there were business folks and the atmosphere was totally different as a result of that. Saw a couple of honeymoon couples, but other than that it was a pretty serious, and professional feeling environment.
I finally headed back to the room and everyone was stirring. There was a gloom in the room that I hadn't expected, I felt very obvious vibes that no one wanted to go home tomorrow. Especially not ending on the note of the way we (3 of the 4 of us, Dad was fine wherever he was LOL) felt at Royal Palm.
We were headed into the Magic Kingdom, even though we'd heard Mondays were bad, crowds had been non-existant on week days so we decided to go for it.
Over breakfast, my DD expressed that she wished our trip wasn't going to be over so soon. I told her that I understood how she felt, I felt like we just got there and it was time to go already. DH chimed in that he didn't want to see it end either. I looked up at him and said "Don't say things like that, I could extend our trip in two seconds!"
Just before we'd left, we found out that he had two extra vacation days that had carried over from the previous year that we were unaware of. I was now hatching ideas in my brain. He looked at me nervously.
"My employer is expecting me back Wednesday..." he said sternly, my husband is SUPER concientious about his job, he's never taken a sick day in a year there, he's a very, very hard worker. Too hard, sometimes. Every once in awhile he needs to be reminded that you have to stop and smell the flowers, I think that's why destiny paired us two: I remind him.
My dd cried, she'd picked right up on the fact that I wanted to stay longer too. I told her that DH had to do what was best for work, that we would come back another time. Besides, we had the whole day ahead of us.
DH went all quiet on me, and we headed off to the MK. We rode Buzz and the TTA again, tried the Indy speedway which I hadn't done since I was a kid (fun to me now that I can't drive anymore!) they rode the carousel twice, we went on Pooh and then we headed for Dumbo.
I usually sit Dumbo out but I wanted a moment to chat with my husband. So dad and DD went in another car and I sat down beside DH.
I know him so well, I could tell that he really wanted to ask his boss for the extra days. I also knew that he'd mentioned previously that no one else was on vacation this week and likely it wouldn't be a problem for him to take two more days.
But DH is very, very shy and he hates to ask anyone, for anything. I could see how much he wanted to stay too, and so I asked him what he was thinking.
He said he was thinking that he'd love to stay two more days, but didn't want to disappoint dd if his boss said no. I said "she doesn't have to know, and it couldn't possibly hurt to ask, could it?"
"No...couldn't hurt..." he said, and for the first time all morning, his eyes lit up.
I had no doubt I could find us a room somewhere, and change our flights (for a fee, but we didn't care!) so all we had to do was get a hold of his boss.
I took dd into Tinkerbell's to distract her while DH talked to Dad about if he'd want to stay. Of course, Dad said he'd love to, and so DH called work. Boss was in a meeting, so he left a message.
Not knowing how long it'd take to hear back, we headed off to Cosmic Rays for some fries, left Dad and DD at a table and went outside to make another cell phone call.
Just as I was about to dial Northwest to see about potential flight changes, DH's boss got through to us. He asked what was up, DH explained we were in the MK and that, if it wasn't going to inconvienience anyone and could be arranged, he would really like to extend his trip by two days, he had the time saved up, etc etc.
My heart pounded, it was such a HUGE thing for very shy DH to ask for the time, I hoped his boss would be okay with it.
Dh stood there uttering very cryptic "uhh huh, mmm hmm's, and then said "I'd be back Friday, not Monday, mm hmm, I sure will, thank you very much sir!" and he hung up. Then he grinned.
"He said to say hi to Mickey and Minnie for him!" Dh said, and I squealed with joy. We were going to stay two more days!!!
"Okay, I have to call the airline and the resort, go get dd some fries and I'll take care of the rest." I hugged and thanked DH, I knew it was pushing his comfort zone to do what he'd just done (which was good for him though!) and it meant so much to me. He got a big thank you kiss too
I called Northwest, and since our fares had been booked so long ago, all we had to do was pay a change fee to switch flights. I was able to go from a 3:30 flight Tuesday to a 5:30 flight Thursday, no problem! Now all I had to do was get a room.
I had asked DH if he wanted to switch resorts since we were paying change fees to the airline but he said he didn't care, if we could stay at GF, go for it. I called CRO and got left on hold for more than 10 minutes, so I hung up and went into Mickey's Star Traders. I asked the lady behind a non-busy counter if she could help me get in touch with the concierge desk at the GF, and in about twenty seconds I was connected!
I explained the situation to the concierge and she put me on hold, I was getting worried because she was gone so long. I had asked her if there were any rooms in Sugar Loaf available, but when she returned, she'd checked with the room assigner to see if we could keep our main building room.
When I explained to her that I didn't mind moving, I'd really rather go back to SL, she was puzzled, but said it was no problem. She decided to give us a new and seperate ressie for the two nights, but she honored our AAA discount price!
I was so happy, no only were we staying longer, but we were GOING BACK TO SUGAR LOAF!!!! Wooo hoooooooo!!!!
My husband and I were absolutely beaming by the time I got back to the table, and I let him be the one to tell DD. When we told her she squealed and hugged him really, really tight and thanked him over and over, it was so cute. And DH had a big confidence boost cause he'd asked, and it was no problem for his employer (thank you, Mr. E!!! )
I filled the gang in on our plans, new flight, etc. I had to get a hold of my ex so he'd know that dd wouldn't be home wednesday, but I kept getting his voicemail. I left an apologetic message telling him that I couldn't get a hold of him and we had the chance to do something really special for DD and that he could keep her extra days when we got back if he wanted (when I talked to him later, he was fine with it all.) I gave him my dad's cell # where he could reach us any time and we all very happily ate lunch, wind back in our sails!
After our snack, we headed over to Adventureland and rode Aladdin. Was great to practically walk on these rides that usually have such a long wait time! After that we went toward POTC and caught the very end of some kind of singing pirate show.
We wanted to see it all so we found out the next showtime and went onto the ride. We all sang the song heartily as the ride went along, we had a great time!
Did some shopping, got some pirate hats after the ride and went back out front for the pirate show. We had front row seats when they came back out, banging their drums. They picked DD to play the tambourine and even gave her a piece of gold 'treasure' to keep. They pointed at us during the show and teased us a lot it was hilarious ("There's only one thing a pirate is really afraid of..." they said "WOMEN!" and they all pointed at me! LOL. They did a hilarious version of "blow the man down" about how much it costs Dad to take his family to WDW (Pointed at DH a lot during that one!)"Buy him a hook and buy him a peg, cause this trips gonna cost him an arm and a leg!" LOL
At the end, they gave DD an official "Pirate for a day" certificate saying she was a member of the crew of the Black Pearl! (We were bummed there was no Jack Sparrow walking around Adventureland, but we suggested it to absolutely every CM in sight so maybe someday there will be!) They autographed it and posed for pictures. They call themselves "The Rusty Cutlass" look for them in Adventureland if you can! They play right outside the entrance to POTC.
The pirate show was such a hoot, we just had the best time at it. We went on the Jungle Cruise again, shopped, saw a few characters, shopped some more, and by that time we were about to get caught in the 3 o'clock parade crowd. We managed to skirt around it and cut through the shops, did some shopping in the Emporium, and then headed back to the GF.
I had bought the deluxe Cinderella dress and cape from the Disney Catalog for dd and needed some time to get her all dolled up.
Oh, I forgot to add before that I'd had a scare in the morning when I stopped in to check on our PS time for the Gala dinner. When I asked the concierge what time dinner was, he said that our reservation had been cancelled.
It was then that I realized that the other concierge had cancelled the dinner reservation for that night, and not the breakfast reservation for the following morning as I'd asked her. I panicked momentarily, but then they were able to get us in at an even earlier time, which I was grateful for. It would have been a DISASTER if they'd been unable to fix it, because DD found out about the dinner when we checked in (I had planned to surprise her at the last minute but the concierge who checked us in mentioned the Cinderella dinner on the way to SL.)
Moral of the story: If you have more than one PS at a particular restaurant, at different times, be SURE of which one they cancel. Accidents do happen!
Dh put on a nice button down shirt and I put on a little flowered dress (and dd made me wear my "design your own crown" that we had made in the gift shop that day, what fun that was!) DD looked so sweet in her gown, everyone stopped her on the way to dinner to tell her what a lady she looked like.
What cracked me up totally was that this VERY energetic child, who always more skips than walks, took slow, regal, measured steps all the way from our room to the restaurant, sceptor in one hand, and nodded serenely to everyone who said hello ROFL!!! So out of character, she was really 'in costume'. It was a hoot!
I was looking forward to the food very much at 1900 based on our last experience there, and I was not at all disappointed! I was surprised to see that they moved some things around in the main dining room to cram more tables in, which made getting in and out of the dining room...er...interesting, but do-able. My timing was off for this meal, however, and I missed dd's first interaction with Prince Charming, drat it! He did promise to come back to the table before we left to see me and DH who were off getting food.
At this point I must brag about my husband: I always knew he was thoughtful and caring but on this trip, he really outdid himself. At every turn, he would do whatever he could to make things easier for me so I'd have more energy. We had just arrived at the table and I knew dd wouldn't want to go get food out of fear of missing anybody, so Dad and DH went to the buffet and I planned to go get dd's plate, then bring it back, then get my own (working with one hand only at these buffets is a challenge, lemme tell you!)
Well, five minutes later DH and dad are back. Dad has his plate and...DH is holding a plate loaded down with dd's favorite foods! He didn't miss anything, he had the mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, her favorite fruits, all of it. Dad and I were really impressed, and dd was grateful as she was suddenly starving! Only after he was sure DD was all set, did DH go to get his own food, and as he did he held my plate too while I pointed out what I wanted, so he could carry it to the table for me. All together now...."awwwwwwwwwww!" I am very lucky to have him!!!
Now I know some of you probably want to know all about the food so I will try my best here. There was a large salad bar with pasta and potato salads as well as fruits and the standard salad fare and soups. For entrees, there was lasagna (dh loves it) some chicken dishes, (sorry my recall isn't better!) all kinds of potato and vegtable dishes. I went straight for the prime rib LOL and it was fabulous. The big surprise though this time was they had a small area set up where two chefs were making pasta dishes before your eyes, and let me tell you, they were exquisite!!!
I have never liked Alfredo before, but the shrimp and penne alfredo they had was simply out of this world! Not overly cheesy, more of a creamy, spicy sauce, and it was PHENOMENAL! They also had a penne with roasted vegtables in a tomato sauce that was beyond belief. These two dishes is what I ate most of, even over the prime rib! I complemented the chef on it, and it's funny the way that guys talk LOL DH and the chef discussed it like they were talking about sports:
DH: "That alfredo is all wrong, man. Just amazing. You're the man."
Chef: "Oh yeah, I know. I'm all over it."
ROFL!!! Hilarious!
The apple brown betty was just as good as I remembered it. I was a little disappointed that they were having trouble with the ice cream machine, it spit some kind of watery stuff out onto my plate and I said "eeeuuu" and the food staff guy said "Let me try the other spigot" and I was like, "I can't eat this now!" LOL So I got more and just had it with a touch of whipped cream. DD had a little of a brownie but was too full from her regular food for dessert.
The children's food offerings were excellent as usual. Spaghetti, pizza, mac and cheese, hot dogs, Smuckers Uncrustables pb&J sandwiches, all the things kids love to eat.
Dessert bar for adults included the brown betty (my favorite thing there) bread pudding, fruit toppings, whipped cream, fudge, and the ice cream (if it'd been working).
Man, I'm getting hungry all of a sudden LOL.
The characters were great, Fairy Godmother was in the lobby before we got into the dining room, Susie and Perla (mice) were wonderful with dd and the prince and Cinderella were....sooooooo young! The youngest I've ever seen as far as I could tell, and they were great. DD snuck 2, yes two kisses on the cheek (I've got to watch that girl!) for Prince Charming and he was very nice to her. So there were five cinderella characters in all at dinner. Overall, though, I definitely have to say that based on our experience, this trip Princess Storybook was the best character meal for the interaction with the characters.
After dinner, we went into the lobby to let our food settle and listen to the band. DD danced, we got great videos of her, and then she pulled my dad up out of his chair and they danced together. She's bouncing off the walls, he's spinning her to and fro and the song the band was playing? "Don't get around much anymore." Let me tell you that makes for great home video LOL.
I had been looking at the artists in the lobby all week, and suddenly it occurred to me that we should get dd's portrait drawn. She looked so sweet in her gown, and she was full, happy, and had just danced for 10 minutes. If there was ever a time to ask her to sit for a portrait, this would be it!
She agreed, and I was very happy with the sample work the artist had up. She talked me into going for the largest portrait (16X20) and I have to tell you, the artist was amazing. She managed to capture the exact expression, spark in my daughter's eyes, and even the shine pattern her hair has when the light hits it. DD got a little antsy at the end, but she was very, very good, and in the time it took to be drawn dozens of people stopped to watch. DH and I couldn't help but get misty thinking about this frozen moment in time, she is never going to be seven again, but we have preserved her innocence and sweetness in that portrait thanks to the artist.
It came out so good, and the best moment was when dd got up and saw herself and said "Wow, that's me?" I kissed her and whispered in her ear that see, she was such a very pretty girl, and she beamed DH whispered to me "I'm imagining someday, when she's grown, looking at this picture and remembering this night." Even he was getting emotional. My dad was in awe of the way the artist captured her spirit in the picture.
I took the receipt while the artist packaged up the portrait for safe travel home (she did a great job) When I got into line in Sandy cove to pay, I just burst into tears! LOL the poor women behind the counter looked at me, and I said "I'm sorry, I just had my daughter's portrait done and it's so pretty!" and they all said "awww" and were sympathetic to my emotions. Dh had a few tears in his eyes too as we took the portrait, thanked the artist (and tipped her very well, she was surprised and thanked us very much) I saw that my dad slipped something into her hand too, he was so thrilled with the portrait as well, I knew he wanted it, but I didn't know if my mom would let him hang it anywhere in their house (looooong story, hard to explain) so I told him that I'd hang it over our piano and he can sit in my living room as long as he likes to look at it. He replied, "I'll take the kid home, you keep the portrait!" LOL
We had intended to go into MK to see FITS but we heard the crowds were hefty and Dad was pretty tired. So we decided to watch it from our balcony. We got back to the room to see the beds had been turned down, and DD says to me "Mom, there's something over here..." and she takes me to the sinks.
I look at the counter, and then, I scream.
There it is, a mythical TOWEL ANIMAL!!!
I hadn't held out any hope we'd get any, even though I had tipped the housekeeping staff daily (and twice!) but there it was, as precious as could be, a little white duckling made out of washcloths! DH fell in love with it instantly and so did I, I was so excited. I hadn't told them about towel animals because I didn't want them to be disappointed if we didn't get any, what a wonderful surprise! It was the only one we got all trip, but it was so special and such a treat. So in love with it was my family that I immediately told them I would offer to buy the towels from the hotel if they'd let us keep it. They were so attached to it already, I knew they'd be so sad if we left it.
I named the ducky Snowball. Partially because its head looked like one, and also because I thought we'd had a "Snowball's chance" of ever getting a towel animal LOL. That's Disney Magic for you!
It was time for FITS, so we put on some bug spray (skeeters were biting around the GF!) and went out to the balcony to watch the show. I wish they would pipe in the music, the old timey music they play at the marina at the GF just didn't match FITS. If it'd been turned off, we probably could've heard the music from the MK cause we could hear the train whistles clear as day!
Dad could even see the show from the bed! He relaxed afterward and DH and I decided to reward DD for being so good for her portrait by honoring her request and taking her for a late night swim. We had a ball, the three of us, playing in the quiet pool. Lots of families that night, nothing like it had been on the weekend, and we had a great time.
DD and Dad were conked out right after we got back, but DH and I were hungry so we ordered some chicken soup from room service, it was delicious and just the little something we needed to fall asleep.
I was just floating, so excited about our "bonus days", we'd be able to pack so much into them with the non-existant lines! And best of all we'd be back at Sugar Loaf.
Which reminded me, I had to finish packing up so we would be ready to change rooms. I'd asked for late check out but hoped it wouldn't be necessary and maybe we could get into our room right away so we could go back to the Studios. I was surprised how much fun we were having there this trip, and I couldn't wait to go back.
I also knew I needed to do a couple loads of laundry if we were staying extra, so I planned to investigate that when I woke up.
Happy doesn't describe how I felt when I fell asleep that night, all of us, were thrilled, excited, and ready for the fun our bonus days would bring!!!
Coming up next: Day six: Back to "The Loaf": Studios, and Chefs de France!
Yippie!!
