Drama, Please End...Fun, Please Begin...A Sept TR Updated 10/31

[pookersmom]

Your photo shoot photos are awesome! I was about to compliment your necklace as well. Love it!!!

 

[pollymn]

You have a beautifu family. I agree with the other posters, love the necklace

 

[annmarieda]

All caught up! I just love all the pictures you share.

Your cake is so pretty. So cool that you got a discount on it.

As for the kids... I think that parents don't do themselves or their kids any favors when they don't take them out to eat as routine. I have seen it so many times where people I have known don't believe kids should dine out. Then when they do take them out the kids have no manners and go bananas. I also agree that parents should remove kids from the situation when they are acting up.

Very nice photo shoot pictures. You all look like you want to be there. I think that can be a challenge when traveling in a large group.

I loved Kona for dinner when we went. So many people seem to really like the breakfast. I just may have to go there for breakfast next time. I seem to have missed out on a gem this time round.

 

[DB of ODL]

Our watier was awesome. I wish I wrote his name down because he was one of the top two that we had on this trip. Super nice.

I believe his name was Jeff (Geoff). He reminded me of the host from Survivor and he was a really nice guy.

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

Your photo shoot photos are awesome! I was about to compliment your necklace as well. Love it!!!

Thanks so much.

You have a beautifu family. I agree with the other posters, love the necklace

Thanks so much.

All caught up! I just love all the pictures you share.

Your cake is so pretty. So cool that you got a discount on it.

As for the kids... I think that parents don't do themselves or their kids any favors when they don't take them out to eat as routine. I have seen it so many times where people I have known don't believe kids should dine out. Then when they do take them out the kids have no manners and go bananas. I also agree that parents should remove kids from the situation when they are acting up.

Very nice photo shoot pictures. You all look like you want to be there. I think that can be a challenge when traveling in a large group.

I loved Kona for dinner when we went. So many people seem to really like the breakfast. I just may have to go there for breakfast next time. I seem to have missed out on a gem this time round.

Thanks. My family teases me because I "stop every 2 feet" to take a picture.

It was amazing to me the amount of kids that we ran into this trip with absolutely no table manners at all. I could not believe it. If we acted like that when we were younger, my mother would have given us the business about it!

The cake was awesome. I like the ones from the GF Bakery the best. I haven't cared for any of the others that we have tried.

We loved the photo shoot...well, I did at least. It was blazing hot outside too and I had straightened my hair that morning. I prayed that I would not look like a brillo pad by the time the phtoshoot came along.

I've not tried Kona for dinner but it is definitely on the list for next trip. The breakfast is just awesome....you should try it next time.

 

[KatMark]

Sophia, seeing your pictures of breakfast at Kona makes me kick myself in the a** for not MAKING myself get up that morning for breakfast. I promise we won't miss it next year.

I thought your pictures at the pool were fine.

I LOVE the special photo session pictures...they turned out really, really good. I especially like the ones of you and Joe for your anniversary.

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

So the original plan for today was no park . Joe had requested that we go with the flow and just hang out together. The plan was that the family would have a pool day and Joe and I would go shopping or wherever we felt like for the rest of the morning and the afternoon.

Well, that didn't really happen. My cousin was in a tremendous amount of pain so she called that craptastic place again since she had already done all of the paperwork the day before and asked what time slot she could take. They said noon, I believe. We went back over there after the photosession and get this...they made her do ALL of the paperwork again! This was after they told her the day before that she'd not need to do it again since she was already in the system and had not been seen and was coming back.

After she does the paperwork again we sat down thinking that at her appointment time or close to it, we'd be called. Um, no. We had an ADR at Artist Point at 5:30 and honestly, I was freaking out that we wouldn't make it! My cousin is an EMT so she knows the drill and can pretty much tell what's going on. She had an idea of what she thought it might be given her past experience with the same type of pain. She went in and the doctor barely even looked at her and then asked her what she wanted her to do for her. Can you imagine!? My cousin thought that she had pluracy (spelling) and asked the lady doctor if they were going to take an xray or anything. Nope, the doctor said, did you come here for pills? Um no, we came for a diagnosis. She looked at her and told her that she probably pulled a muscle. Really???? We spent two days back and forth for a muscle ache? My cousin was so disgusted that we just left there and she decided to take Advil (in high doeses) until we got home. What a mess!

The good thing was that we got out of there around 2 or so, which meant Joe and I had a bit of time before dinner to spend together. We took my cousin back to the resort and made our way here.

We browsed the stores, including Jimmy Choo (man, how I wanted a pair of boots that I saw there), and a few others. We were sort of hungry but didn't want to spoil our dinner so I suggested that we look for an Auntie Anne's or something to tie us over. Well, we found the Greek Jalapeno and OMG, the food was INCREDIBLE! I have never had Greek food like that in a mall in my life. Joe and I both really loved it and plan to go back next time we are in Florida.

Joe got me a laptop bag from the mall as well. It seems to be a theme when we go to Disney. THe last laptop bag was from the Coach outlet. I can't remember where this one came from but it was a store that sold skateboard stuff.

We didn't have a lot of time to shop but it was nice to get away...just the two of us for a bit. We jumped back on I4 and made our way back to WL so that we could get ready for dinner at Artist Point.

I was looking forward to dinner as our friend from work was meeting us. He recently moved to the Orlando area. My sister, my cousin and I all work at the same place. We were meeting our friend Glenn and he was running a bit late.

We checked in and waited for our table. We were seated pretty quickly once Glenn arrived. It was funny though....very close friends of our family were there at the same time, staying at the same resort. We had seen them a couple of times to say hi and such and get this...they were seated at the table next to us at Artist Point!

The food was good, but honestly, not sure it was 2 TS good. I'm thinking it will be a couple of years before we go back again. Not that it was bad or anything, it was just the 2 TS thing that got me.

I love the butter with the sea salt that they have at Disney.

Another reason that Glenn came down was because I had invited him to join us on a Wishes Cruise. I booked one out of the WL marina for our anniversary and the boat sat 10.

Up next....our Wishes Cruise.

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

Sophia, seeing your pictures of breakfast at Kona makes me kick myself in the a** for not MAKING myself get up that morning for breakfast. I promise we won't miss it next year.

I thought your pictures at the pool were fine.

I LOVE the special photo session pictures...they turned out really, really good. I especially like the ones of you and Joe for your anniversary.

Kathy, you'll have to put Kona on your list for next time. I know you and Mark will love it. OMG, it is so yummy!

I was very happy with the pictures from the photopass session. Gino did a great job!

 

[KatMark]

I CANNOT believe that Urgent Care center. I believe this is why most people go to Celebration. That is totally inappropriate and just SO WRONG!!!!!!

Are those scallops from Artist Point? They look yummy...but from the pics, I can see where it shouldn't be a 2TS.

I'm glad you and Joe got at least a little "alone time."

 

[labsrus1]

The cake tasted awesome! It tasted better than I remember as I got the same flavor last year. I love cake however I have not been able to find one that I really, really like since our local bakery closed. They were in business for over 100 years and after 9/11, business just tanked.





I wish I had a piece this morning too!

I totally understand how terrible service can make you not want to go to restaurant again. Same thing happened to us at Cali Grille and Joe won't even entertain going back there again.



It was so yummy! The cake was pretty but I really don't care for the sunflowers.



The cake was delish and tasted even better than it looked!

I've never seen children like these. They were all over the place. Running into people, climbing on chairs at other tables. It was incredible!



It was so dang good Jenn. I know I will get one next year too. I can't see not getting one every year now...they are so good.

I am scrapping the private dessert party idea. It is ridiculously expensive. I still have all of the menus here and set up fees, etc. I'd do it if we split the cost but from what I saw when I was trying to plan one for this year, with 10 people it was going to be over 1,000.

I know what you mean about the cruise. We've done 2 so far and this year I didn't spend a lot of time trying to take pictures. I sat back and enjoyed the view and just shot a few.

I'm glad that I got my amaretto filling.




I wish that you were still in the restaurant. I was kicking myself because I forgot to mention it to you before we all were seated. THere is always next year, right?

We are booked at Coronado Springs from Sep 10-22. I am already in the mind set, that I have to loose weight so I can gain it at Disney. OH Chuck did gain 10 pounds this year..

 

[Trentmom]

I love kona breakfast, So good..mmmm

Your pics are awesome. Gino did an awesome job with all different shots he took

I love one of the anniversary one of you two where your ring is super sparkly from the sunlight....that is awesome

That is awful about Urgent Care. What a mess they are there


Glad you and Joe got to have a few hrs of alone time

 

[Beka]

I agree about AP. I found the food to be hit or miss. Brown Derby, on the other hand, would be worth it. Just avoid the tuna tartar, unless you LOVE wasabi.

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

The photo pass pics were really good! I especially thought the ones of your anniversary were sweet, plus the ones of your mom & nephew.

I know your cousin couldn't help she wasn't feeling well & I'm glad she was okay considering the poor service, but it being your anniversary & I think I read there were 2 cars rented, I'm really wondering why your sister didn't volunteer to take the cousin? Her son would've been fine hanging out with his grandma

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

I CANNOT believe that Urgent Care center. I believe this is why most people go to Celebration. That is totally inappropriate and just SO WRONG!!!!!!

Are those scallops from Artist Point? They look yummy...but from the pics, I can see where it shouldn't be a 2TS.

I'm glad you and Joe got at least a little "alone time."

The Urgent Care Center was unreal. Never again. We will go to Celebration next time...let's hope that there isn't a next time but that place was disgusting.

The scallops were from AP, but I told them no sauce which is why they look so plain. I still don't think it's worth 2TS credits though.

We enjoyed ourselves at the mall. I really wanted to go to MK, just the two of us, but it didn't work out that way for us. At the exact time that we were married we were sitting in the waiting room of the urgent care.

We are booked at Coronado Springs from Sep 10-22. I am already in the mind set, that I have to loose weight so I can gain it at Disney. OH Chuck did gain 10 pounds this year..

We're going to be there from the 16th - 26th next year. I'm still going to try and lose more myself. It is so hard to do!

I love kona breakfast, So good..mmmm

Your pics are awesome. Gino did an awesome job with all different shots he took

I love one of the anniversary one of you two where your ring is super sparkly from the sunlight....that is awesome

That is awful about Urgent Care. What a mess they are there


Glad you and Joe got to have a few hrs of alone time

I can taste the pancakes now from Kona. Joe took me to IHOP yesterday but it didn't even come close.

Gino did do a great job. I'm contemplating next year having them done of just the two of us again at WL...but only if I can request Gino.

Never again will we go to that urgent care.

I agree about AP. I found the food to be hit or miss. Brown Derby, on the other hand, would be worth it. Just avoid the tuna tartar, unless you LOVE wasabi.

I do love Brown Derby. Ever since they changed the recipe on the grapefruit cake though, I've been bummed. I asked about it the last time we were there and was told that they changed it. Why change a good thing?

I do love their food though.

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

The photo pass pics were really good! I especially thought the ones of your anniversary were sweet, plus the ones of your mom & nephew.

I know your cousin couldn't help she wasn't feeling well & I'm glad she was okay considering the poor service, but it being your anniversary & I think I read there were 2 cars rented, I'm really wondering why your sister didn't volunteer to take the cousin? Her son would've been fine hanging out with his grandma

Thanks. I think the pictures turned out well.

It's sort of a long story, but my sister wasn't able to drive. We were going to share responsibility driving the second car but she has a small car at home and this was an SUV. She tried, but it didn't work out well for her, which was why we took my cousin. Joe and I were the only ones listed on the rental.

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

After dinner we made our way over to that marina. I saw a boat coming in that was decorated with a Happy Anniversary banner. I didn't pay extra this year for the decorations like last year so my first thought was that the boat was for someone else. Nope, it was ours.

Our captain was Captain Keith. We had him last year too. He's awesome. I met with him to settle the bill for the cruise. They were having communication issues with The Poly and that is where they call when they settle the invoice.

One thing I noticed was that there are NO bathrooms anywhere near the dock! I asked Captain Keith it we had time for a potty break and walked back to the Lodge.

The rest of the family hung out and talked with Glenn.

Here is a funny little side story. They were showing Princess and the Frog on the big screen at the beach. Glenn was smoking in the smoking area and some lady came up to him and asked him to help her get the bag out of the garbage can. It was very strange and Glenn asked her why. She said that she was going to take the can and put it over a boa constrictor snake. Um, lady, if that is indeed what's over there...how about getting your kids and getting the heck out of there. My thought was that if she put the can over the snake, did she not think it would just dig into the sand and get out from under it?

Anywho, we boarded our boat and Captain Keith started to tell us cool stuff about the lake and the lagoon.

These were waiting for us when we boarded. We also had snacks and pop too, but we were all so full from dinner.

It was very interesting actually. We also went looking for alligators and we did see two of them. One was small and the other was a bit larger...maybe 4 or 5 feet, I think. It was very cool.

I decided that this year I was not going to stress myself out trying to take pictures of Wishes. The boat moves around and it is super hard to get a decent shot. It was quite a bumpy cruise and honestly, there were a couple of times when it got a bit too rough for me. But that was okay, I loved it.

We went over the water bridge too. I think it is so cool that the cars are going under the water bridge.

Captain Keith kept moving our boat to try and get a better view. There were a lot of boats out that night and the Grand Yacht kept blocking our view. Here are a few of the pictures I managed to take.

We got to see the electric water pageant too. I had no idea that it played 6 times a night in various places around the lagoon and bay lake.

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

I highly recommend a Wishes Cruise. While you can't tell by my craptastic pictures, it's an awesome experience and I think it is well worth the cost of the boat.

After Wishes we made our way back to WL and hung out by the pool. I went upstairs to get Glenn a giant piece of cake to take back to his hotel. He had family in town so he wasn't sure if he was staying for one night or two. He was staying at the Sheraton Safari since he brought "Carlton" with him. Carlton is his dog!

We had a great time chatting with Glenn. Joe had to take my brother back to his resort and the rest of us went to our rooms to call it a night.

Disney, Day 8 - Craptastic Stuff/Drama = The urgent care center!!!
Disney, Day 8 - Fun Stuff = Spending some alone time with Joe on our 10th anniversary, our photo session, breakfast at Kona.

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

I was super excited for day 9! Today we were having breakfast with Queenofallthings and Jasmine, her daughter. We had PM'd back and forth to try and figure out how we could meet to say hi. Queen was able to do one better...snag us an ADR at Kouzzina for breakfast and there were 9 of us! Score! I was secretly hoping that my dear friend Nathan wasn't working because if he was our waiter, I was going to scream. Thank goodness he wasn't!

We picked up my brother and made our way to the Boardwalk My cousin had never seen the resort so we said that we'd go a bit early...that didn't happen. Getting 9 people together and getting out the door isn't that easy. We had 2 rooms, plus one room at a different resort. When we arrived, Queen and Jasmine were checking out the meny posted outside. We went inside and Queen went to the desk to check us in. We were called almost immediately which was nice and were able to sit at a nice round table where we could all chat.

First, I have to say, both Queen and Jasmine are awesome people. I felt like I have known them both forever. We just chatted away like old friends. It was so nice!

I nearly cheered out loud when I realized that dear old Nathan was not there that morning. Thank the Lord! We placed our orders and chatted away while we waited for our food. Queen and Jasmine had just stated their two week trip and had a resort day planned that day.

When our food arrived, we both passed our cameras around. It was funny because my family had been use to me not letting them touch a thing until I took pictures. They all sat patiently while we passed around not one, but two cameras...mine and Queens!

I am so bummed because somehow or another, I didn't get a picture of our entire group. Queen did though and she's posted it on her TR. I could kick myself for not getting one!

After we ate we walked the Boardwalk again and did a bit of browsing. Joe gave into his Vinylmation addiction as well.

Here are a few pictures that I took on the Boardwalk. There is one of myself with Queen but none of the entire group! OMG, what happened? I don't know if it was my camera or what because I swear I asked my nephew to take them.

We also went into the Boardwalk Bakery and I got a couple of Mickey Muffins for snacks later on. Jasmine and I were checking out all of the goodies in there intently as was Queen! Oh man, that place is just full of yummy stuff!

After we talked a bit more, we said our good-byes but not before realizing that we were both going to be at Epcot one day before the end of our trip. We arranged to text each other so that we could meet up once again.

I really enjoyed meeting Queen and Jasmine and was looking forward to seeing them again before the end of our trip.

We then made our way back to WL. Mom was planning to relax and the rest of us were going to take the boat to MK.

Next up, did we all make it and if not, who didn't and why?

 

[charming23]

Great updates. Your photosession turned out great. I love all the different combinations.

It sucks that the urgent care center was sooo bad. I hope your cousin was able to enjoy herself.

The wishes cruise looks like so much fun. Your pics turned out good.

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Hello from Maine!!!! It has taken me 2 days to catch up (imagine, I have other things to do other than the Disboards...that's just not right!!!! )

I love your trip report!!!