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

[mickeystoontown]

“I’ll kick you in the cojones if you touch me! Love you!”

The plan for this day was that there was no plan. Actually, that isn’t quite right because we had plans for dinner and I had a surprise up my sleeve but the guys didn’t know about it yet. Wait up a sec, they knew there was a surprise but they didn’t know what it was yet. Yeah, that’s it.

We slept in and finally drug ourselves out of bed mid-morning. Our stomachs were telling us that they needed sustenance and they needed it fast. We had slept through breakfast and it was nearing lunch time. No wonder they were grumbling and rumbling. Instead of eating from the breakfast items we had delivered by Garden Grocer, we walked over to Old Port Royale to use our dining credits.

Most of the food stations were already serving lunch but one was still serving breakfast so that’s what John went with. I believe this is the bounty platter:



Hunter, of course, got a pizza. I swear he is going to turn into a pizza one day. Or possibly a Little Debbie Fudge Round since he has been obsessed with those since he was around 3 or 4. I didn’t take a picture of his pizza since you’ve seen it in pictures before.

I ordered a turkey and bacon sandwich with a side of pasta salad.





Because John ordered breakfast, he didn’t get a dessert. Hunter got his favorite chocolate cupcake with white icing:



For my dessert, I chose the monkey cupcake which is my favorite dessert to get when at the resort:





Inside of the monkey cupcake...a creamy custardy type filling with sliced bananas:



While we were eating, I asked the guys if they wanted to know what their surprise was and both said not yet. Are you kidding me? If it were me, I’d be screaming “Yes! Tell me now!” They have more willpower than I do, that’s for sure. I said “Are you suuuuuuure you don’t wanna know?” and they gave in and let me tell ‘em that I had reservations for the Wishes Dessert Party at the Magic Kingdom. They both gave me “huh?” looks and I had to explain the whole set up to them and then they realized that it really was something special and how nice it would be not to have to fight the crowds to watch the castle show and see Wishes. Hunter thought that was really neat. John, on the other hand, was most looking forward to the all you could eat desserts.

The meals were delicious and hit the spot. This was the view from our table:



I told them that Mamaw wanted them to call after I had revealed the surprise. We were over in the corner of the food court all by ourselves so they went ahead and called her from the table instead of going outside and off to the side so as not to disturb anyone. Hunter talked to her for a while and then decided to go back to the arcade and play some more.......wait for it..............



He has Guitar Hero at home yet he wants to play it on vacation? I think he said something about not having some of the songs at home or something like that. When it comes to anything that has to do with video games, I’m totally ignorant. Hush up ya’ll! Don’t make any wise cracks about my ignorance not being limited to my video game knowledge.

If anybody is interested, here are a couple of pictures of the inside of the resort arcade.





I went to the bathroom at Old Port Royale and, again, took my camera so that I could take informative pictures. Yes, bathroom pictures are informative:





Just outside of the bathrooms are public telephones, a mail drop and a phone card machine but I guess I didn’t get a picture of the machine.







**Continued in next post

 

[mickeystoontown]

I stopped back by the arcade, told Hunter that I was going back to the table and then we would be going back to the room. He said that he would finish up the song and then come back too. He asked if there would be enough time for him to take a swim in the quiet pool and I told him that he should so long as he didn’t linger in the arcade too long.

As I was walking back to the table where John was still on the phone with my Mama (that man loves a phone and Mama was talking his ear off ), I took a quick shot of one of the tables in the food court. The table/counter had to-go type boxes, lids for plates, small bags, large brown bags and I believe straws.



By the time that the phone call ended, Hunter was done and we all walked back to the room. John and I found an umbrella table at the Jamaica quiet pool and Hunter went up to change. While waiting, I took a picture of the menu thingie that was on the table:



Another “while we were waiting” picture which is of the entrance to the laundry room and bathroom:



Oops, menu got in the way:



You may have noticed that there were life jackets at the quiet pool which was the first time that I had seen them there. On previous trips, we had only seen them available at the main pool. Even later in the trip, while walking past the quiet pool, I noticed that they were still there. I don’t know if that’s the new normal or if it was a temporary thing.

John and I sat talking and sweating and wondering where the heck Hunter was. I sent a text and he said that he was in the bathroom. Well, that explained what was taking so long. What is it with boys staying in the bathroom for a ridiculous amount of time? I often wonder how he even stands up afterwards ‘cause I know that his legs have to have gone numb. Anyway....

It was getting pretty hot out and we were getting sticky so we went back to the room to cool off and watch a little television. I also wanted the guys to pick out what they were wearing to dinner in case anything needed the wrinkles ironed out. We were going to the Grand Floridian Café and I didn’t want us to just show up in t-shirts and shorts and stand out like sore thumb amongst all the people in their Grand Floridian finery. But, I didn’t want anything too dressy because we were going to the Magic Kingdom later and who wants to be dressed all fancy in the middle of a theme park?

Someone asked me before what my “Lisa List” was. I love having Lisa Lists especially when we are going on long trips like this two week trip to Disney. It makes things so much easier.

Before we go to Disney, I pull out all of my shorts, my “potential” shirts and match up my outfits. Once I have my outfits picked out, I figure out what day I am going to wear what and to what park/restaurant/etc. After that’s decided, I pick out the jewelry that I will wear. As I said in my intros, I like jewelry and sparkly things. Not super expensive jewelry or sparkly things, it can be el cheapo so long as it looks good. I take that after my mother. After I’ve matched everything up and decided what day I am wearing what, I make my list, print it out and pack it in our luggage so all I have to do is pull out the list and ta-da, I’m done. ‘Cept, when I hastily printed out my Lisa List before leaving work, I printed out the wrong one. I was having to improvise which was okay but still slightly perturbing knowing that I had done the work beforehand and it could have been easier.

Once Hunter stumbled out of the bathroom, he picked out what he was going to wear but not without grumbling a little that he had to wear a polo shirt. Goodness gracious, the boy is just like his daddy and doesn’t like wearing any shirt with a collar. John gets it honest though. He’s a P.K. You know, preacher’s kid. Preacher’s kid that had to dress up all the time for church, for funerals, for weddings, for everything except for when he was at home. Hunter’s excuse? Well, he really doesn’t have one except for he just doesn’t like ‘em.

After a while, we all started getting ready for the evening and the guys were showing a little more excitement about the dessert party. During the planning stages, I had Ohana scheduled for this evening, cancelled it, had to find another one after the family asked why we weren’t eating there, and then searched for something that would be close to the Magic Kingdom. The Grand Floridian Café fit that bill perfectly. Dinner needed to be a bit early because we would be going to the dessert party afterwards and I didn’t want us to be too full to enjoy the goodies on the buffet.

The bus to the Magic Kingdom pulled up within minutes of us getting to the bus stop and we were on our way to the Magic Kingdom. From the bus stop, we walked to the monorail and made the resort loop to the Grand Floridian. Since we were a few minutes early, we looked in Basin and one of the other shops before going to the restaurant to check in. When we arrived at the check-in desk, there were several castmembers there to greet us and one led us to our table. The table in the middle of the first room. Looks like we were the first one at the restaurant.



Our waiter came as soon as we were seated. He said that we were the first dinner reservation on their books. No wonder the room was so empty. He gave us the menus and took our drink orders. I took a picture of my men before looking at the menu.



A couple of other families came into the restaurant and it was kind of funny because of the three tables, all of which were close together, there were three different waiters. I guess since the the restaurant was virtually empty, the waiters were trying to keep busy.

Our drinks and the bread was brought to the table and we had already decided what we wanted to order for our entrees. There were two different kind of breads but I guess that I only took a picture of one of the rolls. It had small pieces of something sweet, probably cranberries, and it was quite delicious.



There’s definitely an advantage to arriving at a restaurant at or near opening because our waiter was very attentive and our food was out in record time. John ordered the shrimp and grits:



Hunter ordered the steak with a side of fries and I believe that’s broccolini which he promptly gave to me:




I had the grilled pork chop with mashed sweet potatoes and asparagus:



Everything was absolutely mouthwatering! I’m talking drool worthy! I was a little disappointed in the mashed sweet potatoes because here in Louisiana, sweet potatoes are served with sugar and butter but they were still good.

Dee, in your earlier post, you were talking about the family rolling their eyes when you take the “informative” pictures of the condiments, etc. My family is usually pretty laid back when it comes to those kinds of things. But, when you are sitting in the middle of an empty restaurant and your waiter is standing there waiting on you to call them over, it is a little awkward taking pictures of your food. John didn’t like me doing it at all at the Grand Floridian Café but I snapped them when the waiter’s back was turned anyway.

While eating, we couldn’t help but notice this family of four beside us. It was a dad and mom and their two older teenage daughters. They ordered water and they split an entree. AN entree. Not four entrees, not three entrees, not even two entrees but one. It was just seemed so odd to come into a place like that and order one entree for four adults.

As I said, the food was outstanding and we will definitely be going back in the future. With the dining plan, we had desserts but we didn’t want anything that was super filling. I honestly have no idea what John ordered:



I think that my dessert was a lemon cheesecake or just a cheesecake:



**Continued in next post

 

[mickeystoontown]

Hunter didn’t want anything but ordered the sorbet and fruit so that we could sample it:



We settled the bill and walked out of the restaurant saying that it was the best meal of the trip so far. Of course, we weren’t that far into the trip but, still, it was good.

We took the stairs to go back up and I took Hunter’s picture standing near the railing which had me feeling all wobbly headed ‘cause of my extreme fear of heights. I don’t even like seeing anybody standing that close to a railing.



John wanted a picture of the two of us and Hunter told us to stand near the railing and I refused. I wasn’t not happy at all when John was trying to scoot me closer to the edge. I told him that I’d stand a little closer but “I’ll kick you in the cojones if you touch me!” then smiled and said “Love you!” Yeah, I love you didn’t quite come out in the expression on my face:



Hunter took a picture of the beautiful ceiling:







And one of the pretty GF laid in the marble flooring:



**Up next: If you’re gonna hurl, hurl before the party!

 

[CJK]

Great update!! I've always said that the Grand Floridian Cafe is one of the most underrated restaurants in Disney! It seems to be overshadowed by the signature restaurants - Narcoossee's and Citricos. Glad you enjoyed it! Can't wait to hear your thoughts on the Dessert Party!!

 

[Mommy Poppins]

Great update, Lisa!

We had that Monkey Cupcake when we were at CBR in July--that thing is too die for!!!! We went back for one a different night, but they were out of them!!! Need to find that recipe!

 

[ddstratton]

Love the updates. I just finished lunch, but all of your yummy food pictures have me hungry again. Everything looks so good! From the turkey sandwich, to the cupcakes, to the steak, to the sorbet and fruit... Yummy!

 

[PrncessA]

They are not kidding when they say don't feed the animals, it changes their behavior! I was attacked by a squirrel in Epcot, and I was NOT trying to feed it! LOL

I am hearing you on why boys/men spend so long in the bathroom! The kids have to read 30 minutes a day for school, Ethan saves his time until he has to go to the bathroom and reads his entire time while sitting on the pot! When he finally gets up he jumps up and down trying to get the blood flowing to his legs again!

You had made me add another restaurant on to my wish list! The food looks as good as you say it tastes.

Can't wait to hear about your MK evening and the dessert party!!

 

[natebenma]

Love the updates!!!

Wow, you guys did sleep in.

Your dinner at GF Café sounds wonderful! I have never been there (in fact, I have never step food in the GF resort), but the reviews I read about that restaurant are always positive.

You can tell your family that Dee thanks you for all the pictures of your delicious looking food! My family is not wild about me taking pictures of our meals- I should say Mark and Nate are not, Ben does it too- but they tolerate it. I try to be quick. The key is to get a picture of theirs first. Then I can take my time with Ben's food and mine.

Nice pictures at the railing and it is nice knowing the sentiment behind your expression!

Can't wait to hear about the dessert party, but a little concerned about your title preview.

 

[sewmess]

I don't know if it's the camera, or y'all did it on purpose, but the choice of attire for the evening complimented very nicely with one another. Y'all looked like you were a family - but not in a matchy-matchy kind of way.

 

[jedimeg16]

GFC is such a nice restaurant! During our trip last year my hubby requested a meal that was just the two of us and we went there (my brother and his now wife also ate there at the same time, just two different reservations). We had a spot tucked away in the corner and it was a very nice meal. We both had the burger with lobster on it because our waiter described it as "surf and turf on a brioche bun".

 

[IheartDDuck]

I'm praying for you guys that John gets back to work in a few weeks.

I'm glad there was enough money to bail you out in case you got picked up by the Disney PoPo.

Close talkers and I, we don't get along too well. I just don't understand it. Like, get out my face!

Dinner at House of Blues looks good. We haven't eaten there in a while.

I'm glad that at least something from unemployment is coming through. Something is always better than nothing. I'll keep you in my thoughts that something comes your way.

That's awesome that Lacey and Jesse are coming on your trip next year.

I wouldn't have wanted to hold out either! I would have been begging to know what the surprise was. I love the dessert party. I was hoping to get it in November but we have too many people. I do like not contending with the crowds.

Grand Floridian Cafe is a great place! I think of it as a hidden gem.

 

[KatMark]

Great update, Lisa.

John's breakfast platter looks really yummy.

The Menu thingie? I love how you described it.

So did Hunter ever go swimming?

Dinner at GF looks wonderful. It goes on our list and then goes off. We will definitely have to try it some time.

Inquiring minds want to know....did the men who were in the restaurant have collered shirts on like John and Hunter?

Four people shared one meal? Were they all on a diet?

Nice pic of you and John ALMOST to the railing.

And nice job Hunter on the beautiful ceiling pictures.

 

[Clarf]

You'll be there sooooo soon! I can't wait to see the pictures. You are going to show me pictures aren't you?

Of course I'll show you my pictures! I'll be taking hundreds! We leave in 16 hours!!!!!!!!

I loved your update. I can't believe in 2 nights I'll be sleeping at CBR.

That food at GF Cafe looked delicious! My dh would love the shrimp and grits. He's a former southerner and loves his grits!

And the GF is so beautiful. I could never stay there, it's too fancy for me, but I like to visit it.

I'm sure I'll get behind, since we'll be gone, but I can't wait to catch up when we return and share our trip with you!

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

So sorry to hear of John's temporary job loss. I hope he gets back to work soon.

I love your Lisa List's. I am a list writer too. It just makes everything so easy.

The Grand Floridian Cafe looks absolutely gorgeous. I've never eaten there but hope to try it one day.

 

[ashw100]

Coming out of lurkdom to say how much I love your TR. Your family is too cute and your TR is really entertaining. I'm so sorry about your husband's job hopefully things will be sorted soon so he can get back to work . Can't wait for your next installment!

 

[jane2073]

How did I miss the monkey cupcake?! I always check out the dessert case several times a day!

Hopefully work picks up soon for John!

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Yay, more CBR pictures to show George tomorrow!

I want to get a Dessert party ADR but haven't been able to yet. George would LOVE it and I know I would too.

I originally booked us for GF Cafe for our upcoming trip when I originally couldn't get BoG, but when I found one there I cancelled it. I definitely have to go there sometime though, as it all looks so delicious!

 

[smidgy]

great pictures.. thanks!!!

we love the Grand Floridian cafe!!! it is SO pretty in there and cheery!! nebo likes that it is bright and he has no trouble seeign in there (le Cellier? San Angel? way too dark for him) and the food and service is always good.

3 dif. waiters had each of the 3 tables becused the hostess staggers the tables amongst the servers. this is to be fair so all the servers get about tthe same amount of tables, and also so no one server is slammed with 3 or 4 tables that sat down at the same time. you get better sercice when it is staggered.

It is well within that families right to order water and split one entree (we often order water ourselves), but I'm sure whatever server got that table was not a happy camper! we also split a meal at Prime time ; it's a lot of food for us(but we also split an appetizer and a huge shake). I would think they would at least split 2 entrees for 4 people!

here's hoping the job search goes well for John.. that is so stressful. nebo was on unemployment back in 2007 when the company he worked for for 27 years went under. you pay into unemployment and have every right to recieve it.. that's what you pay into it for!

 

[kmrein]

Subbing!

 

[Disneymoon09]

Whew! I finally made it through all the links and some of the end pages. Looks like a great trip for you guys! I love your TR's, so full of fun and joy.

I'm really sorry about John's job, that (pardon my language) just sucks. Hopefully his money will be in your account soon, and even better, he'll go back to work too.

What are you dates for next year? Another long trip? I think you may have been there when my sister's family was there in June. 5-16th I want to say.