Disney dangled the visual weinee & Mickeystoontown gobbled it up! 10/26

[maryj11]

So sorry to hear you guys are having a hard time Sometimes life just stinks, praying things work out for you. I know getting the unemployment set up is nothing but a pain in the butt !

 

[mickeystoontown]

Oh Lisa I am so sorry to hear John got laid off! In 2012 I was laid off from my job of 8 years (I started at 14) and ended up being laid off 9 months, from October to May! I pray that his is nowhere near as long. I was shocked by how smoothly my unemployment process went, but now I'm dealing with a healthcare company that keeps screwing up on their end and blaming me!

Hopefully things get all sorted out soon for you!

Oh my word! I would be if John was told that he'd be off for 8 months. Hopefully, he'll go back in a couple of weeks. Healthcare companies can be the worst to deal with! Hope that they get whatever the problem is worked out soon.

Lisa I'm so sorry to hear all this. I'll be praying for you and your family. Hopefully something with the unemployment will get going soon.

Thank you for the prayers!

I am a firm believer that good things happen to good people, so you and John are in for a heaping of good coming your way soon! You are most definitely in my prayers!!


And you are so right Unemployment is not fun!!

Aww, Sara, that's so sweet! I'll take all the prayers we can get!

I am so sorry. My husband was unemployed for 5 months last year, starting right before Christmas. It was rough, I know how you feel. Luckily, once you get the unemployment ball rolling, we didn't have any other problems. It's just getting things started that sucks, at least here.

Oh my goodness, right before Christmas? That's horrible. Hopefully, the ball will get rolling soon. I save for times like this but it still sucks!

So sorry to hear you guys are having a hard time Sometimes life just stinks, praying things work out for you. I know getting the unemployment set up is nothing but a pain in the butt !

Life really does stink sometimes! Thank you for thinking about us.

 

[ValarDisneyus]

I'm reading I'm reading!

But I only got through the intro and now I have to ask: what's a "Lisa's List?" I mean, you said it lines out your outfits, but all that does is make me more curious.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I'm reading I'm reading!

But I only got through the intro and now I have to ask: what's a "Lisa's List?" I mean, you said it lines out your outfits, but all that does is make me more curious.

Welcome aboard!

I am one who likes to have every outfit coordinated. When I start getting my things ready to pack, I pull out every shirt, pair of shorts, capris, dress, etc. that I intend to take on vacation. Then, I match up each outfit. After that, I decide what day I am going to wear each outfit and to what park or destination. Once the destination is decided, I pull out my necklaces and earrings to match. 'Cause you know if you are wearing a Mickey shirt, you need a Mickey necklace or if you are going to the Animal Kingdom, you need your wooden bead necklace. I take that list with me to Disney so that I will know exactly what to pull out on any given day. I also list my custom backsacks and what each outfit they will go with. That's my "Lisa List". It's so much simpler than it sounds when all typed out.

 

[mickeystoontown]

If you’re happy and you know it, lick your nose!

We made it back to the resort and decided to just hang out a while because, as I said before, we had some time before we needed to get ready and head out for the night. John chose to lie back and watch a little television. Hunter went to the arcade. I chose to do more detective work.

I was still on my mission to try and spot one of the newly refurbed rooms or at least possibly see some progress going on. Now was as good a time as any because there was still enough money in the safe should John and Hunter need to bail me out. Later on the trip, after more souvenirs were bought, there's a very real possibility that there wouldn’t be enough and I would have had to stick it out in Disney jail for a day or two until my Mama could wire more money.

I walked to the other side of the building and saw no security but, as I already knew, that didn’t mean a thing. Last time I didn’t see the guard’s vehicle and when I rounded the corner there wasn’t just one but two guards there. I went into super stealth mode and walked around the building and saw no sign of security. I took the pathway that went between two of the Jamaica buildings and tried to get close enough for pictures but this was the best that I could do since they had barriers blocking the pathway entrances.



I could tell that they had changed out the light fixtures and could see well enough to tell that the wall color had changed but that’s about all that I could see. Lots of work permits were posted on the windows.



I took a couple more pictures but they aren’t really worth sharing since they look very much like the two above. Every once in a while, other guests would walk by so I really didn’t feel comfortable going past the barriers in broad daylight. I certainly wasn’t stepping past the barriers and into the vegetation. There’s simply too much of it and who knows what was lurking underneath all that foliage.

There was another mission that I was supposed to complete and that was taking some “detail” pictures inside of Old Port Royale. I figured if I were going over, I might as well take the mugs with me and get us all drinks. Even though we had a big Garden Grocer in the room, it’s nice to have a soda fountain drink every once in a while. I stopped by the room, got the mugs, and started my walk.

Two pictures that I took with the camera on the walk through the island:





The following pictures are the “detail” pictures that I took while in Old Port Royale. I’m pretty active over on the CBR information thread and some folks had asked for pictures of drinks available, dining plan snack options, etc. If you don’t care to see pictures of condiments, drink options, bakery items, etc. feel free to scroll on through. These pictures were taken with my phone and may not be perfectly straight because I was juggling mugs and had put the camera in my pocket.

The toppings available for sandwiches, burgers, etc. There were also sliced lemons and small packets of butter. This one isn’t too clear, sorry.



Drinks available at the drink station:









The caffeinated coffee was on the drink station and the decaffeinated was on the long counter that I also have pictures of.



**Continued in next post

 

[mickeystoontown]

As I said, there is a long counter that’s located in the food court and iit s behind the drink station. On this counter, you’ll find the decaffeinated coffee on one end:



A microwave next to the coffee dispensers:



Moving on down the counter and right past the microwaves, are condiment dispensers (there are two, maybe three condiment dispensers, I can’t remember how many):



In the middle are lots of other types of syrups, jellies, sauces, relishes, tea bags, seasonings, etc.:








Then, on the other end, you’ll find toasters, a condiment dispenser and a mug wash sink:



I thought that I had taken pictures of the menus but I guess that I didn’t this time. I must have just gone to the grab-n-go section. Options/items available in the grab-n-go section of the food court:











The shop/store that’s located in Old Port Royale is divided into two section. These were in the section of the shop located just as you walk inside Old Port Royale.







In the other section of the store/shop, there were quite a lot of food, snack, drink options as well as assorted sundries but one of the super friendly castmembers would not shut the heck up and was trying to tell me about something that I really, honestly, can’t remember. To make matters worse, he was a closetalker. You know those people who stand right next to you almost rubbing shoulders with you and if they are the kind that spit when they talked, your face would be all wet. Yeah, he was one of those kind. It’s not my intention to sound mean but gosh dang it guy, I’m trying to help the Dis nation out! I took just one picture and left:



After leaving Mr. Closetalker in my dust, I stopped by the arcade and told Hunter what time he needed to come back to the room. I left his mug with him and went to the drink station to get John some coffee and a Coke for myself.

**Continued in next post

 

[mickeystoontown]

After getting over the bridge, I turned to the right instead of left and sat down on a nearby bench. I called Mama to check in and make sure that everything was okay. She normally travels with us but had decided not to go with us this year so I knew that she was probably getting lonely. I could tell by the tone of her voice that she was smiling as I told her about the day and chit chatted with her. She wanted to know what we were doing for the evening and asked if I had told Hunter and John about tomorrow’s surprise. I told her that I had not but I planned on giving them the choice of knowing tomorrow morning or tomorrow afternoon. She said that no matter when I told them, we were to call and let her know what they thought about the surprise. We talked for a few more minutes and I told her that I needed to get back to the room so that we could get ready for our dinner reservations.

Hunter must have been coming through the island about the same time as I was getting to our building in Jamaica because he came up right after me. We took our turns in the shower and made use of the privacy curtain between the closet/sink area and the room. (By the way, the curtain has been replaced by sliding doors now that the refurb has started.)

Soon thereafter, we were out the door and walking down the steps. There was a mousekeeping supply cart/buggy/vehicle/whatever it’s called parked there and it was the perfect height to sit the camera on and take a family picture:



The bus stop wasn’t busy at all. I think that there were about a half dozen people there and most were waiting for a park bus (we could hear them talking about the parks they were going to). When the Downtown Disney bus pulled up, just one other couple got on with us. There were plenty of seats to be found and we sat in the ones that weren’t designated as handicapped or for their group. We made the loop around the resort and were soon on our way to Downtown Disney. Thankfully, the traffic on this evening wasn’t anything like it had been a few days before. It was horrendous before!

Given the whole traffic and crowd and construction fiasco that we encountered a few days back, we weren’t sure if we needed to try and get off at Marketplace and walk to the restaurant or if we should stay on the bus and get off at Pleasure Island. Normally, we enjoy the pleasant walks at Downtown Disney. Now that all of the construction was going on, it was more difficult to navigate and it wasn’t as pleasant. We decided to get off at Pleasure Island even if that meant trying to get off a crowded bus after other guests got off and on at Marketplace.

Sure enough, a lot of people got off but a lot got on too. It was crowded but not unpleasantly so. And, certainly not as smooshed in and unpleasant as our bus ride to the Boardwalk. I don’t think any bus ride has ever been that bad. When we got to the Pleasure Island stop, we “excuse me”’d our way off.

We were a little too early to check in for our dinner reservations so we window shopped a little along the way which was a bit hard to do with the construction walls making the walkway narrower than normal. Our window shopping led us to our destination...Crossroads at House of Blues or just House of Blues as most people call it. There was a short line outside and to the left of the doors but we bypassed it and went right in. By the way, we weren’t cuttin’ in line. In the past, we waited in the left line and were told that we were to go on in if we had an ADR.

We gave our name and were told that the wait shouldn’t be long. I had a little time to take some pictures of the quirky waiting area. Look closely at what’s framing the doorway:



You can tell that these benches/seats have been sat on many times:



Our name was called and we were led all the way to the back of the restaurant to another quirkily (is that a word?) decorated room:



I have no idea why the picture came out so red?

We had a couple of extra ADRs and not enough dining credits so we decided to pay for our meal at House of Blues out of pocket and save the dining credit for a more expensive restaurant. Not that our meal at House of Blues wasn’t expensive because we all know that every restaurant in a tourist area is more expensive than at home.


Normally, we go straight for the entrees but our server suggested that we try an appetizer and that the cornbread was good so we ordered a pone (that’s Southern speak for a skillet of cornbread). I’m not a cornbread girl but John is...well, he’s not a cornbread girl but he’s a cornbread guy. The server took the appetizer and drink orders and came back soon after with our drinks. About five minutes after, another person brought out the cornbread:


I guess that we are used to true Louisiana cornbread because this wasn’t that great. It was too thick and slightly sweet. I make cornbread that’s crusty on the bottom, not too thick, not too dense and it’s not sweet. If I do make the sweeter cornbread, I put in cheese, corn and chopped jalapeno. Anyway, I ate one piece and John ate maybe two. Hunter? He wasn’t touching it. You know, he’s a picky eater and all. Don’t let my review of the cornbread stop you from order it though. If you like thick, dense, slightly sweet cornbread, then you will probably like the House of Blues cornbread.

Our waiter asked if we were okay and refilled the drinks and then went to check on our entrees. He and another waiter came back with their hands full. John ordered the fried chicken which is a massive amount of chicken with mashed potatoes and slaw:


I ordered a steak with mashed potatoes and some sort of bean, asparagus and tomato side dish:



Hunter ordered a steak as well with fries:



Each of us enjoyed our meals and were left stuffed to the gills. I didn’t care for the hot tomatoes or the hard pieces of asparagus but, again, that’s my opinion. Others may like al dente veggies.

From past trips, we knew that the bread pudding was almost as amazing as the bread pudding served at Ohana so we ordered one to share. Well, John and I shared. Hunter wasn’t touching it...again, he’s a picky eater and all.



**Continued in next post

 

[mickeystoontown]

We asked for our bill when our server came to check on us. While waiting, I went to the ladies room and it, too, had crazy cool decor. The stall wall:



One of the walls near the entrance/exit:



The sink area:



Taking pictures of a bathroom may be weird but I know that you, my fellow Disers, appreciate the fact that I took my purse and camera with me so I could take pictures if I could. When I got back to the table, the guys were ready to go. We used the exit that was at the end of the room and came out near the funky weird wild archway outside the restaurant.





We were trying to figure out what kind of crazy mind would think up some of these designs and why they would. Hunter said it’s because they make people smile and happy. Well, then, “If you’re happy and you know it, lick your nose!”



And clap your hands:



Say a prayer or perhaps sing “King Tut!”?



A wide view of the entire arch:



John’s brother called and while they talked, Hunter chilled in one of the several chairs that were outside:



**Continued in next post

 

[mickeystoontown]

We found a bench nearby and sat there while John talked. We people watched too which was quite fun considering we were near an outside bar area. Some people were a little bit snockered and were funny and only a few were obnoxious. Phone call finished, we went in to the store that used to primarily sell Vinylmations but now only half of what they sell is Vinylmation related:






We walked outside and following along with the crowds through Pleasure Island and over to Marketplace. At that time, there were construction walls but not so many that we couldn’t get around. (This would change on our next visit to Downtown Disney.) We stopped to take pictures of the Lego structures:













I am always on the hunt for a good deal even while on vacation at Disney. Therefore, a stop was made at the Mickey...Mickey...Everything...what’s that place called that has the less expensive stuff. You know, it’s near the carrousel and sometimes they have the 5 for $20 items. Anyway, we went in there but I didn’t buy anything. From there, we walked to the bus stop where castmembers were directing guests to the correct line. I’m glad they were there because, for some reason, they are confusing to me.

A bus came quickly, we made the mandatory stop at Pleasure Island and were back at Caribbean Beach after sitting in some traffic. Again, it wasn’t as bad as our trip a few nights before.

We watched a little television before going to bed. Tomorrow was the day that I surprised my boys with something special.

**Up next: “I’ll kick you in the cojones if you touch me! Love you!

 

[Born 2B a Princess]

Wonderful updates! House of Blues is on my list of places to try, and your pictures just made me want to try it even more. My oldest daughter loves quirky, artsy type places and I know she would love the decor there.

 

[Born 2B a Princess]

And adding in...many prayers and hugs for your husband's employment situation and the new medication situation. I hope everything works out quickly.

 

[themommy]

So sorry to hear about the problems ya'll are having. $10 to $247...what are you supposed to do with that kind of money? Prayers are being sent out for ya'll!

Deja vu on the CBR pictures. It was nice to see them all again.

I have not been to HoB in years. It somehow seems more strange than I remember. I do not recall the shoes around the door at all. I am also sure that I do not recall the "fire room". Isn't that fire painted on the wall? And the picture turned out red? Creepy!

I have to say that that is the largest crown on cornbread I have ever seen. That was sooo thick! Sorry that you did not enjoy all of your food but, I suppose some of it was good. I got a kick out of your son's steak with fries and ummmm fries.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Wonderful updates! House of Blues is on my list of places to try, and your pictures just made me want to try it even more. My oldest daughter loves quirky, artsy type places and I know she would love the decor there.

If she likes the quirky, artsy type places, then you need to go to House of Blues. It's a neat restaurant and there are lots of quirky things to look at. Be sure to go around to the back so you can see the archway.

And adding in...many prayers and hugs for your husband's employment situation and the new medication situation. I hope everything works out quickly.

Thank you for the prayers and hugs!

So sorry to hear about the problems ya'll are having. $10 to $247...what are you supposed to do with that kind of money? Prayers are being sent out for ya'll!

Isn't that crazy? $10 to $247 dollars....um, how do you even begin to budget with those figures?

Thanks for the prayers!

Deja vu on the CBR pictures. It was nice to see them all again.

I took so many pictures on various days. I sure hope that I had the right day/pictures. Oh well, they were there to inform folks so I should post them over and over again.

I have not been to HoB in years. It somehow seems more strange than I remember. I do not recall the shoes around the door at all. I am also sure that I do not recall the "fire room". Isn't that fire painted on the wall? And the picture turned out red? Creepy!

There are some strange things hanging around the restaurant, that's for sure. While waiting on our food, we wondered if the dots on the walls and ceilings were fingerprints. They really looked like it.

Oh yeah, that is fire painted on the wall. Maybe that's why the picture of the room was red.

I have to say that that is the largest crown on cornbread I have ever seen. That was sooo thick! Sorry that you did not enjoy all of your food but, I suppose some of it was good. I got a kick out of your son's steak with fries and ummmm fries.

Wasn't it though! That's one of the reasons we didn't care fot it. I'm sure others enjoy their cornbread like that but we didn't. Everything was super delicious with the exception of the cornbread and undercooked (on purpose) veggies. Yeah, Hunter had fries and a side of fries.

 

[Millie12591]

As always, Lisa...you and your family crack me up with your antics. If you're happy and you know it lick your nose! Only you would come up with that.

The HoB is veeeeery Austin. You find a lot of that same decorating in a lot of the restaurants here, and from what I understand it's much the same way in Portland. It's interesting and fun, but not really my thing.

I can't wait to find out what the surprise is going to be!!

 

[smidgy]

so many trips wehahve been on, many with the "free" dining, and we have only twice used TS credits at DTD! both at Capt. Jacks. this trip we will try Fultons
. we have used CS credits at wolfgang pcks express, and paid OOP for Earl of Sandwich. and OOP at Trex.
I was so glad to see your pics of House of Blues, ! the chicken and steaks look great! the other place that looks interesting is Raglan Road.

(we do'nt bother with Rainforest because we have ne in Schumburg, Il, about 8 miles from us)

whe we use to drive, going to DTD wasn't so bad. now that we fly (due to hubby's vision loss) we find that , even without the construction, the bus takes sucH a long round About way!

And then we're always trying to squeeze in that Planet hollywood voucher. but you only get it with a package. and the only time we do a package is with the dining plan ("free" or not) and then, it's hard to squeeze in a meal! we're already too full (how people do the Deluxe dining, I'll never understand!)
no matter, got our vouchers for our upcoming CBR trip.. the PH voucher is only $10 now, no longer $15. I guess it wasn't worth it for them.. althought we always got 2 burgers, we didn't take up a table with just a $15 appetaizer. AND we always tip 20% BEFORE the discount. but I'll ber most people don't...

 

[rndmr2]

I'm so sorry to hear about John's job, I hope he is called back soon. I remember collecting Unemployment back when I was out of work for most of 2011, not an easy system to have to deal with.

Neat to see pics of Old Port royale

Looks like you had a nice dinner, John's fried chicken looked yummy!

 

[horse11]

WOW Lisa I had no idea! Life can be hard when it sends you a curve ball. You guys are in my thoughts and prayers. I am praying that this is a tempory thing and that John will be back to work soon. Adjustments to new meds or new doses of medication is never fun but hopfully also temporary.

 

[PittypatBR]

A fun evening with the family, for sure. What INTERESTING decor! I really love that picture of the three of you outside the room. Good job with the cart!

I hadn't been to the site in several days, so I didn't know about the job problems. So sorry - hope the business picks up and they call him back really quickly. Also hope the new medicine schedule helps keep the epilepsy better controlled. Y'all don't need any more stresses! Know what you mean about nosy bodies, too! Hope the unemployment checks start rolling in and they are better than expected. I will keep y'all in my prayers.

 

[horse11]

First I want to personally thank you for attempting to find out about the renovation at CBR. CBR is such an assume resort. I just love your pictures of the walk way to Old Port Royal. I loved walking there because it was just so beautiful and pictures show that.

Ahhhhhh those muffins and cupcakes!!!! I can taste them now!

Along with those cupcakes I really enjoyed the Hot Cocoa from the machine your have taken a picture of. Even though we went in May and it was in the low 80's I still enjoyed drinking the Hot cocoa

I have heard alot of good things about House of Blues and always wondered what it looked like in side and what type of food they served. I have to say the steak looks good along with the Bread Pudding. May have to try it some time.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Yay for the CBR pictures! I love that you played detective while there. And thank you for the other pictures too. George and I will be there in December and you have pictures I don't have that I showed him and got him more excited for CBR!

I ate at HoB last year and enjoyed it. I agree that I don't like overly sweet cornbread, so I wouldn't have liked that either. I got the fried chicken that John got, and it was quite yummy but so much food! Their decorating is quite a hoot there.

I can't wait to find out how the guys reacted to their surprise!