Looks like a fantastic day was had by all!! The kids are adorable, and I bet it was wonderful to show them all of your favourite things. I also imagien you guys enjoyed your evening down time with just the two of you. No matter how sweet the children, it's a different pace isn't it?
And yes dancin'.. pcitures!!!!!
. A great day at SW for all. My daughter used to love Shamus kids area, I miss going in now.
It's amazing how tiring it can be watching all those shows and going on the rides, I get you we're both looking forward to your meal and a bit of "downtime "
As for dancin' Bruce Willis in MK, wow just wow, any more details?
so he'll be hitting the sack pretty early. Once we're back from the gym (we're trying to faithfully put in 2.5 miles on the treadmill every night.....our April trip is coming up quickly!!), perhaps I will sit down and type out the Texas de Brazil installment. If not tonight, then tomorrow for sure 
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. He has been eyeing them up ever since the curved models hit the market, and was shocked at how much less expensive they are here versus back in Canada. He's been putting in such long hours and working so hard at his new job, I encouraged him to splurge...and a quick trip to Costco yesterday turned into a rather major shopping trip. But, I have to say, the picture quality is something else.......and the darn screen is HUGE! 
I have to do this in parts because I have so much to catch up on!
So here's through page 7!
I don't know how I missed that you're back and started a new TR! So sorry because this comment will be super long as I get caught up!
Dash and Violet got sooo big since the last picture I saw!
Also I'd love to add you on Facebook! If you don't feel comfortable exchanging it publically I could PM you mine or vice versa.
That's mostly why we skip out on those restaurants when we go because they're so close to home. But I would want to try them too if I didn't live around them. I'm glad you can have some of your favorites more often now!
I have never been to a Cheesecake Factory that wasn't crazy packed!
Now that you can go more often you should try the baked potato tots though. It's the best appetizer!
Totally understandable I'd hate to be without Josh for so long. I'm so glad you two got to spend 2 weeks together after having to spend so much time apart!
I always get dessert there even when I'm too stuffed to move.
Nope!
That's a great price!
I think that's incredibly nice and a really good deal!
We had to wait 40 minutes in December it was awful!
Ooo we did a Christmas one. I never thought about there being a lot of Halloween decorations...
Oh no! Our driver was pretty quiet.
I know it's stunning! We've only been once before the change.
It just isPeople love it.
DLuxe Burger is so good! Definitely worth a try.
I totally agree.
We haven't gone on it either. It always seems too hot to go on it!
, my friend.....I am so glad you found me!! I will PM you my last name, and I'll be easy to find.......its a bit unusual so its generally easier for people to find me rather than the other way around.
.I still miss the mime.I do enjoy the new Sea Lion show but I think I liked the Pirates Island show more. Although, it could just be the color scheme. I am not a fan of so much yellow. Just doesn't look right to me.
I'm a bit surprised the divers weren't at the Pearl factory. They were there in September. But they weren't there in January. I hope they bring them back.
) .... they were such a unique feature of the park. I hadn't even thought to look at Travelzoo lately! I will have to see if Steve is interested in maybe having a brunch there on one of our mornings......we have been three times now (most recently on the October trip) and had a great experience on every visit. At half price, its a steal!
Probably the biggest question anyone has about the dessert party is "was it worth it". That's a tough question to answer. It does take quite a bit of time away from party activities, so it admittedly affects the number of character meet and ride opportunities that you will be able to squeeze in over the course of the evening. The fact that we were attending two parties made it so we had two nights to fit in all of our must-do's, so that definitely helped make the dessert party down-time not such a big deal. The desserts were incredible an we loved the parade viewing area and being able to relax and truly enjoy the fireworks, but the price was steep at $79 per person on top of our MNSSHP tickets. Overall, we did really enjoy the splurge and were glad we had the experience at least once. Would we do it again? It's hard to say. Definitely not if we just had one party night at our disposal, but if we had two ..... its possible
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Now, let me preface my next comments by saying that I was quite impressed that housekeeping left us a towel animal: this was totally unexpected and well exceeded our expectations from a timeshare resort. Kudos to the staff: they definitely went above and beyond.
This specific towel creation, though, gave us both a fit of giggles that left us with tears running down our faces and laughter pains in our sides. What the heck was it supposed to be? We had a few ideas, but none of them can be posted here. I took a quick photo of it and uploaded it to Facebook, looking for some help from my hopefully more pure-minded friends to see if they could help me deduce which animal (?) it was supposed to represent. My Facebook peeps responded in droves, with guesses ranging from an elephant to a serpent to a swan……and a few who spoke aloud our thoughts and suggested something a little less……wholesome
(ahem!
). At any rate, we laughed about this for the rest of the trip, and it occupied a place of honour in the master bath until we checked out after our 7-night stay.
My best appropriate guess is a narwhal...Thanks for that great info. The only day that might impact us would be the Sunday, but we'll just plan for that to be an early park day and do something fun for dinner. I wonder if they are taking reservations for Toothsome yet?I will bet it will be PACKED that weekend after the park closes to the public.
Steve wants to go back to the Skeletons Museum at the Eye complex in May. We visited it once during the first few weeks it was open, and they were still putting the finishing touches on some of the exhibits. Since we've done the Eye 3 times, Sea Life twice, and Tussauds twice, Skeletons would be our next repeat. We might try and combine that with a meal at either the Shake Shack or Sugar Factory.
The food at Capone’s was really, REALLY good: not only did they have a full pasta buffet (spaghetti, meatballs, lasagna, etc.) they also offered an amazing carving station (with beef, turkey, and pork) and a nice selection of kid-friendly items and sides: everything from mashed potatoes and fresh salads to chicken nuggets and pizza. Even I, and admittedly selective eater, was overwhelmed by the sheer number of Italian comfort foods available, which meant I had to be selective on which items I chose to eat. There was NO WAY my stomach was going to handle sampling a little bit of everything I liked. As a VIP guest, we were first to the buffet so everything was piping hot with each tray full to the brim. The chefs at the carving station were equally as charming as the servers in the lounge and dining area, and it was very uplifting to see every worker, from greeters to the kitchen staff, wholeheartedly enjoying their jobs.
Steve was about 12 rum runners in when Miss Jewel decided he needed to join her on stage to be her dance partner. I won’t lie: I had a little flutter of panic inside, because she was pretty tiny and Steve was almost 300 pounds…..and he had consumed enough alcohol since the night began to make him less than sure-footed by this point in the night. If he happened to stumble, Miss Jewel could be a dead woman. Apparently all my worries were for naught, though, as even being three sheets to the wind, my Steve cut a rug like a professional dancer
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The other highlight of the night was when Steve noticed that Fingers’ fly was down……and after pondering if it was part of the act (eventually enough time passed that we realized it wasn’t), during an informal part of the show, Steve ….. from his stage-side seat ….. very calmly tossed out “Hey Fingers, your barn door is open”. The fellow that played Fingers didn’t miss a beat, promptly zipped his fly, and expertly wove that little faux pas into the balance of the night’s entertainment.
It was the newspaper that did it for us: what a unique souvenir of such an incredible night. After we moved to Michigan, I was able to special order a frame to accommodate the unusual dimensions of the newspaper and it now holds a place of honour in our entryway. I am sure it will end up being a great conversation piece……..when I actually meet some people here and start having guests over.
And for those in the storm areas today, stay in and stay safe from Stella. She passed through SE Michigan yesterday but thankfully we only got about 4 inches total. I'm hearing 2 feet is possible for some parts of the northern US. Didn't Mother Nature get the memo that we were all ready for spring?
Absolutely I'd be happy to add you on Facebook!
DLuxe Burger is one of Steve's must-do's in April/May, and we're both excited to give it a try. If I have my way, it will be followed up by a Sprinkles cupcake
Looking forward to have you reading and commenting along from here!!
. While kids are most welcome at Texas de Brazil, I think the price and nature of the meal make it more of an adult destination versus a family dining choice.
. The meats there had been grizzly and fatty, the service disappointing, and the atmosphere chaotic. We were both keeping our expectations a little more managed this time around: better to be wowed than to be let down.
. We obviously arrived right at the start of the dinner hour [And as a side note….the restaurant did fill up noticeably as soon as we were seated….timing is everything].
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. Seriously, they were spectacularly good: I could have easily made a meal on those two items alone.
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) we headed to the car and began our drive back to Cypress Palms for the final time. Tomorrow, we would be checking out of WCP and moving back “home” to Sheraton Vistana Resort 
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After a meal like that, you can actually think about eating donuts?? Sigh.
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), and then headed back to enjoy a Krispy Kreme and a glass of milk before calling it a night. 
Within a few minutes, our server quietly appeared with a selection of hot items for our table: mashed potatoes, fried bananas, and freshly baked cheese bread bites. As he set each bowl on the table, he encouraged us to let us know when we needed more of any item, and he would have it refilled promptly. He also noted that the first of the meat items would be along shortly, and to let either himself or any of the carvers know if anything should be prepared for our specific tastes.
I have to add some comments about these sides: in particular, the cheese bread and the fried bananas, both which were AMAZING
Desserts were not included with the meal, but were offered a la carte once we had turned the table cards to red and pushed our bloated bellies away from the table. While their sweets looked and sounded delicious, we both declined for fear that we might surely explode on the spot if another bite went into our mouths.
Steve was smiling ear-to-ear as we left. I think he has found his new favourite restaurant.
Seriously, man?
And here's my comments for the last 10+ pages
We did the dessert party in 2015 and I agree that spot is amazing!
I love the parade too! I'm glad it doesn't change I have the "Boo to you" music on a playlist
We did it once and it was great but we probably wouldn't do it again. We had also planned 2 party nights that year but only made it to 1.
Oh my that does look very inappropriate.
I'm going to chicago next weekend for the first time! We may see Shedd Aquarium, sadly it'll be too cold for the zoo.
Yay! We'll be there May 5th-13th. Universal the first 2 days (with a trip to DS on the 1st day for a dismeet). We should try to meet up on the 5th or 6th.
No reservations for Toothsome as of the last time I was there. We thought the Skeleton Museum was fun, we had the place basically to ourselves when we went. Shake Shack is so good! I still have yet to try the Sugar Factory.
Sounds yummy!
I love it!
I want to do it too! I'm also a little torn about the cost and other plans we may have that night but it could be the only time they offer it so I'd probably go.
Ugh we got 2'+ around here.
That hat is so cute!
The 6th is probably out, as we will be checking out of SVR by 10 and heading back to Fort Lauderdale for our flight, but maybe we can pick somewhere in Citywalk for dinner on the Friday night? Or even a quick hello somewhere in the park that day. I'll try to remember to PM you my cell before we leave so you can text me.. Ours is already melting away, so I guess I won't complain.....too much..Glad you enjoyed your dinner, what meats were on offer other than beef? I'm not a big meat eater so not sure it would be value fir me.
As for the donuts, well I watched out for the sign too on our last trip but never saw it the couple of times we passed a Krisp Kreme
.They're delicious!
We've eaten there twice for Josh's birthday and he loves it! I tried dessert once and it was okay but the meal is usually waaaay too filling for it.
We'd definitely be up for a Dismeet on the 5th!
2 feet of snow.....good grief
Ooooh, good idea! I had forgotten about Amorettes. Was it very pricey?
we'll be getting in around 1 (though the flight usually gets in earlier) and probably be headed to lunch/the parks by 2 pm the latest. Maybe we could meet for lunch or in the parks? 
I can do the 5th! But we already have a dismeet in DS for dinner
I want to do so much that first day maybe we'll switch to an earlier flight
I know the snow was crazy here!
Amorettes was around $8 a mini cake which I didn't think was terrible.
) was hit and killed at the entrance to our little community a week or so ago, and I've never been so intrigued by road kill in my life. And yes, I realize that makes me sound weird.
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Meeting in the park would work perfectly for us. Maybe we can plan to get together at Florean Fortescue's and say hello over some Butterbeer ice cream?
That's a very reasonable price for a bakery-quality cake. I am going to have to research flavours.
Racoons drive me bonkers. They are everywhere here in the north, and would get into our garbage cans on a regular basis when we lived in Canada. Don't believe the "critter proof" claims from the manufacturers of those cans.....its baloney! (or our Canadian raccoons are smarter than your average bear LOL) A little related (but not really) fact: Michigan has possums. Never seen one before, but a huge one (or, it looked huge to me.....maybe they are all that big?
