DxDDP, a pedometer, DH and me...Feb. 27-March 5 trip to WDW

[Jen12573]

Enjoying your reviews so far! And I totally agree that there's always a meltdown in WDW and it's not always the kids...

Thanks! Oh the meltdown, I told DH he owes me another day on our next trip. Ugh. That may be why I put him in the little sombrero. Punishment for misbehaving! LOL!

 

[jstouder]

Love your reviews.

From one adoptive mother to another, good luck. It's a crazy rollercoaster but so worth it.

 

[Jen12573]

Love your reviews.

From one adoptive mother to another, good luck. It's a crazy rollercoaster but so worth it.

Thank you so much. It's definitely a roller coaster ride we are preparing for. What an adventure it will be. Last night I said to DH, next time we go to Disney we'll have a child. We both said at the same time, "I can't wait!!"

 

[Mrs D]

You two are adorable! I'm loving your reviews!

 

[kelleigh1]

It's all what you make of it. It was more food than we would normally have at a dinner if we were home, but we love apps and a full entree each. The dessert was a bit much but the sorbet options and fruit for skinny DH, and fruit to go from 50s PTC worked really well for us. I also think spacing meals out having a late AM buffet breakfast, 2TS dinner and a snack in between was the best option for us. And we still had 10 snacks left on our last day to bring things home.

Thank you! I think that's the idea that we had - breakfast and then mostly 2TS dinners. Or a snack for breakfast and then a TS lunch and dinner. I think we can make it work for us and if we bring a bunch of snacks home, we won't be sad about that.

 

[lilandvisma]

Glad to hear you guys love Narcoossee's ! We have our first Dinner there in 2 weeks Great reviews !

 

[kelleigh1]

Glad to hear you guys love Narcoossee's ! We have our first Dinner there in 2 weeks Great reviews !

A great place!! I think you'll enjoy it.

 

[Busymom85]

Enjoying your reviews. Thanks for posting.

 

[VrBchJ]

Love your reviews. The picture of your DH in his mini sombrero is priceless.

 

[crabbygal902]

Your reviews are terrific!

Best of luck to you as you go through the adoption process and become parents. This last trip that was 'just the two of you' will be a very special memory as your family grows.

 

[lizzyb]

Great reviews!

 

[Jen12573]

I think I've been avoiding typing up my last day because I just don't want the trip to end again.

Today, even with the fact that we had to check out and check in our luggage with ME (even though we had a 4:15PM pick up), we still made it to DHS in time for 8AM EMH. I was thrilled! I also spent the entire day 6 trying to get an ADR at Chef Mickey's. Finally it worked out, we had a 10:40AM ADR. Perfect!

We woke up at 5:45 and packed up DH's bag (mine was packed the night before, of course). We headed off to ME to check in, and then back to the main building to check out completely. All went well, and we were finally on our way to DHS.

We made it to DHS just in time for the park to open, I think it had opened maybe 5 minutes before we arrived. Evidently the bus driver told us that dispatch forgot to send out buses early enough for DHS's EMH, so they were scrambling all morning to get people to the parks. The All Star resorts had lines of over 200 people for a DHS bus. Glad we were one of very few vacationing groups at CSR, thank you again Grainger. Once at DHS, we got a few photos outside

and then we headed over to Toy Story to get a FP, and finally back to RnR. We rode that, went through Walt Disney: One Man's Dream, and then it was time for us to head off to breakfast at Chef Mickey's.

I should add first, I get very emotional when I see stories about WDW, we share the same birthday and to be honest, I feel a little special about that. So of course, that lead me to cry during One Man's Dream. And as we left, I told DH that everyone should have to see that before they go to the parks!

Chef Mickey's - what can I say about Chef Mickey's? It's the usual breakfast fare, but the atmosphere is definitely what you go there for. We had a great time, food was delicious, (DH is a big fan of the glazed donuts there - although we remember them being whole donuts last year, now they are large donut holes) and the characters were amazing. We had some quality time with Mickey, Minnie and Goofy. We decided to head out before seeing Donald and Pluto, we wanted to get back to DHS.

After CM, we stopped over at the gift shop because we had snack credits to burn, and we spotted the candy counter. We bought 4 of those giant cashew cluster patties, to bring home. They are huge, delicious, and well worth the snack credit!!!

Following our stint at the CR, we headed back to DHS, used our Toy Story pass, and watched some of the ESPN The Weekend broadcast. Now, I'm a huge NY Jets fan, so seeing Herm Edwards only steps away from me was pretty amazing,

and later "'running into a parade" of three NY Jets players as we walked out,

PERFECT!

DH was pretty excited about seeing Mia Hamm as well.

So, finally we headed off to the hotel to chill out before it was time to board the ME bus. We stopped over at Pepper Market to use our final meal credit. There's nothing to really report on that, we had a chicken sandwich from the grill, it was good but not great (as DH said, it was no Southwest Chicken Sandwich that was taken off the menu at Gasparilla Grill). But it ended the trip still on a high note. We were happy, the trip was amazing, and I can't believe we have to wait more than a year to return!

Pedometer - 13,241 steps = 26,482 feet = 4.41 miles walked on our last day.

So, the trip - FOUR out of FIVE STARS - the meltdown, a few hiccups with the convention, and a couple other minor issues. Overall, it was simply amazing. We love WDW and can't wait to return.

If you have any questions, just let me know. Thanks for reliving our trip with me!

Jen

 

[Jen12573]

You two are adorable! I'm loving your reviews!

Thanks so much! I'm so glad you are enjoying them.

Glad to hear you guys love Narcoossee's ! We have our first Dinner there in 2 weeks Great reviews !

You are going to love Narcoossee's, and you may even be eating there today for all I know hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Enjoying your reviews. Thanks for posting.

Thanks for reading!

Love your reviews. The picture of your DH in his mini sombrero is priceless.

Thank you - yes, DH was being punished for his meltdown, I wouldn't let him put the big sombrero on because he didn't deserve it, he was relegated to the mini-sombrero! HA!

Your reviews are terrific!

Thank you! I'm so glad you are enjoying them too!

Best of luck to you as you go through the adoption process and become parents. This last trip that was 'just the two of you' will be a very special memory as your family grows.

Thanks, we are really excited. It was definitely a memorable trip, and we are excited that our next trip will be with a child, hopefully!

Great reviews!

Thanks so much!

 

[Mrs. Sojourner]

Great review; thanks for sharing!

 

[juliebean]

Great reviews - I really want to try the noodle bowl at Kona in a couple of weeks. We might trade our girls Kona Kones for fruit bowls that night too, lol.

Was the giant soccer ball a permanent thing in DHS? We are a soccer family, I'd love a picture of us in front of it! My daughter would've loved to meet Mia Hamm too.

Good luck with the adoption - we have so many friends who have adopted from China (including our sweet little goddaughter), Russia, and Guatemala. Although it's not an easy process, it's one all our friends have been so happy to have it as an option to parenthood. They are all lovely kids!

 

[Jen12573]

Great review; thanks for sharing!

My pleasure, thank you!!!

Great reviews - I really want to try the noodle bowl at Kona in a couple of weeks. We might trade our girls Kona Kones for fruit bowls that night too, lol.

Say yes to the Noodle Bowl, I'm attempting to replicate it at home this weekend for dinner, DH is quite excited about the prospect of having it again - we'll see how it works out. And if it comes out good, I may PM you the recipe!

Was the giant soccer ball a permanent thing in DHS? We are a soccer family, I'd love a picture of us in front of it! My daughter would've loved to meet Mia Hamm too.

It was just there for ESPN The Weekend, I wish it was a permanent thing, DH loved seeing it and I loved that it was empty enough at that time so we could get a couple great photos of him with the ball and no one else around. I am a soccer widow, DH coaches three teams year-round and is a member of the board and is the coordinator for the travel program and summer program. It's brutal sometimes, but we do get some great trips out of the job!

Good luck with the adoption - we have so many friends who have adopted from China (including our sweet little goddaughter), Russia, and Guatemala. Although it's not an easy process, it's one all our friends have been so happy to have it as an option to parenthood. They are all lovely kids!
Thanks, we are really very excited about it. We met with a domestic agency on Valentine's Day but have information from an international agency who we plan to meet with soon.

 

[juliebean]

Bummer about the soccer ball - it's great for a picture. I spend way too much time watching soccer too - hubby coached son's travel team until music took over his life, but was able to segue into coaching daughter's travel team. Honestly, I love it and only have a problem when parents yell at the kids and my husband - he plays all the kids equally, even it it means losing a game. I know it's travel - but they're 8, everyone should get to play, and not just a couple of minutes! Hubby just bought season passes to the local women's professional team too - Skyblue, if I remember correctly - so even more soccer... But he's a mathematician for a profession, so it's not 24/7, lol. I don't know if I could handle marriage to a professional soccer coach!

I know several families that have adopted domestically too, but our closest friends adopted through Bethany Intl. in China. They were very happy with their experience, the agency was very professional, and they stay in touch with several families that adopted at the same time. Their daughter was abandoned as a newborn on a shop's doorstep, but she had a very nice foster family who loved her and provided a secure infancy. I don't know if it's a concern for you (and maybe it's not even a valid one...) but they had gone through miscarriages over ten years and did not feel that they emotionally could go through a domestic adoption and risk the birth mother changing her mind. They felt that was less of a risk with an international adoption.

Our daughter's friend who was adopted from Guatemala has been selling bracelets and raised $600 to go build a home in Guatemala with her mom this summer. I thought that was so great for both her and the town she was from.

The noodle bowl description reminded me of these Mongolian BBQ bowls we used to get in Idaho. Mongolian BBQ in NJ is chunks of grilled meats. The Mongolian BBQ I miss is like a salad bar with meats, veggies, noodles, and sauces - they cook it all on a big round grill - yum! I hope the noodle bowl is close, I do miss it! Tried to duplicate at home, but it's just not the same. Thanks for the info - can't wait another 26 days, lol - we are trying the deluxe and have a whole lineup of restaurants, in between rides, concerts and parades!

 

[vinotinto]

Yachtsman Steakhouse - this was our first time here. We had free dining so I decided that since this will be our last trip for a couple of years, we upgraded to Deluxe. SOOOO WORTH IT! But it was definitely a lot of food.

Our waitress was amazing, she told us about her favorites, and we ultimately decided on the crab cake for DH's appetizer, cheese board for mine, and she highly recommended we share the 24-oz Porterhouse steak and the lobster which was fresh and taken completely out of the shell. I ordered the porterhouse and DH the lobster, it was pretty comical seeing this giant steak in front of me and this small plate of 9 oz of lobster in front of DH.

Dinner was amazing, we ate nearly every bite of both the steak and the lobster. DH had a potato which truly wasn't that great and the waitress said the same, took it back and replaced it with mashed potatoes. I had the creamed spinach instead of a potato, it was very heavy and with lots of garlic. We barely ate any of it, sadly.

Dessert, DH got fruit (strawberries, blueberries and blackberries with whipped cream - no wonder he's so skinny!) and I had the sorbet. The pineapple chili sorbet was incredible - my favorite of the three they brought me.

Tell me more about Yachtsman. How did it compare to the other signatures? Did the Porterhouse come with spinach or did they allow you to substitute?

After CM, we stopped over at the gift shop because we had snack credits to burn, and we spotted the candy counter. We bought 4 of those giant cashew cluster patties, to bring home. They are huge, delicious, and well worth the snack credit!!!

I love cashew cluster patties. That's exactly how we used the leftover snack credits the last day, but we were at MK. Where is this candy counter at CR? And what else did they have for a snack credit? (any fudge?).

Thanks for the reviews! I love reading DxDP reviews.

 

[Jen12573]

Tell me more about Yachtsman. How did it compare to the other signatures? Did the Porterhouse come with spinach or did they allow you to substitute?


I love cashew cluster patties. That's exactly how we used the leftover snack credits the last day, but we were at MK. Where is this candy counter at CR? And what else did they have for a snack credit? (any fudge?).

Thanks for the reviews! I love reading DxDP reviews.

Thanks so much for reading! First, the candy counter was inside the gift shop on the 4th floor of CR. It was outside Chef Mickey's, the enclosed shop, not the one in the center that is more like an open air shop. They had so much to choose from as a snack credit. Yes, fudge. As well as giant peanut butter cups, the cashew and I believe pecan clusters, and chocolate pretzels. Check out the art on the wall behind the candy counter, its made from M&Ms!

As for Yachtsman...they let me sub the creamed spinach for the potato. She gave us the choice of mashed or baked potato, french fries or we could sub any side they offered.

How did it compare? The atmosphere was very relaxed, the first photo in my review is from there. The food was very good, but I will say the porterhouse was salty. But the cut was amazing. Very little fat around the edges but nicely marbled in the center. We ate nearly every bite of it. DH especially loved that the lobster was completely out of the shell but they did not serve it with butter. It came with mashed parsnips, steamed spinach and he chose the baked potato but the waitress saw the potato didn't look good so she asked if he wanted something else, he went with mashed and loved them.

We will definitely eat there again but not on every trip. It will not replace Narcoossees for us that is our favorite. Flying Fish was amazing too and I would say is tied with Yachtsman, so we'll switch off every other trip with one or the other.

 

[tweetylori]

Really enjoyed your report...thank you so much! Best of luck to you and your husband with the adoption process!