"Enjoy these moments; they are precious"-Lesley's EPIC May TR!-COMPLETED-10/2-Last stops at Flower & Garden and Wrap Up

Love your EE pic! I love how people can look so relaxed on roller coasters. I don't even want to think about what my face would do on that ride! The cupcake looked yummy. I love those crunchy pearls no matter what colour they are!!
 
Sounds like a good day so far! Love that you got to watch the lions play fight!
 
OK! All caught up. Nice rest of the day at AK, that cupcake sounds pretty good. I think I'm going to make some kind of sweet thing tonight. I have nectarines that need to be used up!

I love Flame Tree, but never get to eat there very often.

Stormalong Bay sounds like a nice way to end the afternoon. Perhaps with the weather we have been having I should get in my pool. The heater isn't on, but I bet we don't need it!
 
That Kevin sighting was cute
She is pretty cute!
I had no idea a new gorilla was born. Too bad you couldn't see her but your other pics are great. The gorillas are always so fun to watch.

Glad to hear you enjoyed Flame Tree. Its one of our favorite quick service places but since they put in Nomads Lounge we don't get over there too much anymore. Need to change that.
Yeah - baby Grace was born on the Wednesday we were there!
Wow!!! How awesome that they were so active when you got to see them!!!
I know - it was soo cool!
It was great getting to meet you! We are APs at WDW and I always look for fellow Dis’ers and you were the first one I’ve ever met!:cool1:
(My husband may or may not think I’m crazy. lol):confused3
Haha - just crazy about Disney! I've met a handful of bloggers, but no other Dissers unless it was specifically planned!
Oh neat that they had some props and photographers back there! I don't know if I've seen that before
Yeah, it was a fun photo opp!
You are officially internet famous. Soak it in. Live it up.
:rotfl2:
That is so fun! And at least you thought to take a picture! I did not!
I think she asked for a selfie first, and I was like - oh, I need one too!
Only DISers want the ride to break down and be evac'd! :laughing:
That should be a new tour - just riding rides and being evac'd!
Just got through your 1st round of VIP posts. So cool to have two tours with that many people, but I bet sometimes it was like herding cats! :laughing:

I like the idea of taking vans from park to park....OK, reading more in between getting some work done!
It wasn't too bad organizational wise because Billie and Su-Lynn organized a voting system beforehand. I think everyone voted for 2-3 rides at each park and we could all see which ones we were most interested in!
Did you keep the same guides all day or keep switching as you changed parks?
Same guides. They also were our van drivers.
It sounds like a lot of time was eaten up by going from park to park....it's so much easier at DL when you just walk across the esplanade!
Definitely easier! At least the vans helped with the timing! Before my first trip they had the express bus, which would have been awesome to get to try out. Sucks they didn't keep it going!
How much do those things run? I'll never get to use one, but just curious....
Hmm, I think like $35 base plus mileage? Can't quite remember!
I would have been too exhausted to even make it out of my room! I don't know how you keep going day after day, especially after the first day that you had!
Haha, I guess I just figure I'm in Disney - gotta take advantage of it!
Love your EE pic! I love how people can look so relaxed on roller coasters. I don't even want to think about what my face would do on that ride! The cupcake looked yummy. I love those crunchy pearls no matter what colour they are!!
It helped because we were stopped for a while at the top (after you go backwards), so just chilled for a bit up there before being released!
OK! All caught up. Nice rest of the day at AK, that cupcake sounds pretty good. I think I'm going to make some kind of sweet thing tonight. I have nectarines that need to be used up!

I love Flame Tree, but never get to eat there very often.

Stormalong Bay sounds like a nice way to end the afternoon. Perhaps with the weather we have been having I should get in my pool. The heater isn't on, but I bet we don't need it!
Yummy! I wish we had a pool but we never got one put in (we also have a huge avocado tree in the backyard that would drop leaves and clog up the filters anyways)
 


Sorry for such a delay!

Part 3 - An EPIC meal!

After lunch I headed out of AK, as I had someplace fun to be – Stormalong Bay! Molly and Caroline were already down at the pool and Ariella and her family were too. So we were all able to hang together and chat. I think that was the first time I wasn’t solo at a pool in years, so it was just great to float around for a while! No pictures, because, well we were all in a pool, but it was still super fun!

Finally, we headed back upstairs and got cleaned up and headed over to the Polynesian (the three of us decided to splurge on a Minnie Van too)

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Here, we got to have Dismeets #18 19, 20, 21, 22, with Lindsay, Renee, Jennifer, Mary and Melinda (though I didn’t get to chat much with these lovely ladies)! Oh and @docsoliday1 also showed up – I barely got to chat with him though as he was at the other end of the table! It was time for our huge EPIC dinner! I think we ended up having 28 of us and took over 3 tables!

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Some people were so creative, with Jenn giving everyone a little gift bag with ears, potholder, and magnet clip! Liesa had made everyone cards with gorgeous photos of the pavilions at Epcot. And Su-Lynn had gotten everyone Mickey bottle openers with our “chunky names”, which we had been assigned via our facebook group the week before! FYI – I’m Chunkylander since I’m the Disneyland gal! Ariana gave everyone Mickey socks too! (I had hoped to post photos of everything, but keep forgetting to track it all down, so just pretend you are looking at some awesome gifts)

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But nothing could compare to what Jenn made for me and Su-Lynn! She made each of us a custom quilt with photos from various Dismeets and Disney trips! It was sooo amazing, I actually cried a bit! It truly was above and beyond and I’m still in awe of it!

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Some random photos throughout the meal

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Birthday song - Liesa and Jackie's birthdays were nearby (well I know Jackie's was a couple days later - I can't remember exactly when Liesa's was!)

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Finally it was time to eat! I forgot to take most food photos, so some of these were stolen from @fallonkendra , who actually was a responsible trip reporter and did take food photos (I think most of the rest of us got distracted and figured everyone else would be taking meal photos)!

Delicious bread

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Yummy salad with Polynesian dressing.

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The good stuff – the sides! We got plenty of refills of this!

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And the shrimp, chicken, steak! Our “cousin” was hilarious (each table had a different server), and we ended up giving Steve a whole skewer of shrimp! Which Steve totally finished! (Oh, and we have another #SuLynnEmojiFace!)

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And the lovely bread pudding (We didn’t pour the caramel sauce over this one because apparently @chunkymonkey has no taste and doesn’t like it, so instead we poured the sauce over each of our individual chunks!)

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@docsoliday1 also brought his homemade cheesecake – I’m not a huge cheesecake fan, so decided to save stomach room for the bread pudding, but I heard it was delicious!

Our cousin! He was just perfect, having so much fun with us! Also we has some common ground as he was from Montreal and I went to university there!

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And here was the origin of this Trip Report title – as our cousin is shoveling shrimp onto Su-Queen's plate he looks at both of us, very solemn, and says – “Enjoy these moments, they are precious”. It was just hilarious!

It was a lovely long meal – I think close to 2.5 hrs! That’s what happens when you are in a huge group, but it didn’t bother us as we had no deadline to be elsewhere! I had been here with my mom in February, and it was good, but not amazing. This was amazing! I think it was a combo of food and company! I will be back – probably when I have large groups though (update - we ended up booking it on my upcoming NYE trip, but it will be just 4 of us, no less delicious though!)

After eating, we took a big group photo downstairs (I think some people had wandered off briefly so not everyone is in this shot though).

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After stuffing our faces, we tried to figure out the plan of action. We had considered the Poly beach for the fireworks, or trying to get to Top of the World Lounge, but in the end we decided to head for Geyser Point, where a couple more people were hanging out who didn’t come to dinner (#missingout). We hopped on the monorail (oh, Zach had also been eating at the Poly for dinner, so he tagged along, but I don't think I have photo evidence), got off at Magic Kingdom, then went down to the boat dock. We did have an ECV with us, so had to wait for one of the larger boats, and unfortunately that took a while, which was pretty annoying! Half of us got on the smaller boats, but others of us waited around. When we finally boarded, it was just in time for the end of the fireworks, so we got to watch the finale as we pulled away from the dock!

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And as we pulled into the Seven Seas Lagoon, what starts up 20 ft away from us? The Electrical Light Water Pageant! It was actually super fun to boat past those floats!

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We arrived at WL and headed to Geyser Point, where I got to have Dismeets #23 & 24 with Ariane and Kari.

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We also had a good view for the Water Pageant again, and also got to see some lightning in the background, which was fun!

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I also ordered a drink – I think the Cascadia Sangria Cocktail – Zodiac Black Cherry Vodka, fresh Lime Juice and Orange Juice topped with Columbia Crest H3 Merlot. (I basically asked the waitress for something fruity that didn’t have a strong alcohol taste, so this is what she recommended. It was actually very good.

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Fallon, Luke and I got to chat a bit more, because even though we had done the VIP tour together, we hadn’t really talked! It was fun getting to chat with some Canadians (I’m a dual citizen and even though I was born/raised in the US, I went to Canada for university).

Finally, I realized I was fading fast, so Caroline and I ended up hopping in an Uber/Lyft to head back to Yacht Club! It was really a lovely evening getting to hang out with everyone, and I was looking forward to the next few days even more!

Coming up - May the 4th be with us?
 


That should be a new tour - just riding rides and being evac'd!
The VIP Evac Tour!
I think that was the first time I wasn’t solo at a pool in years, so it was just great to float around for a while!
That would've been nice to have some company for a change. :)
Some people were so creative, with Jenn giving everyone a little gift bag with ears, potholder, and magnet clip! Liesa had made everyone cards with gorgeous photos of the pavilions at Epcot. And Su-Lynn had gotten everyone Mickey bottle openers with our “chunky names”, which we had been assigned via our facebook group the week before!
Very nice of them!
I’m Chunkylander since I’m the Disneyland gal!
Of course! :laughing:
But nothing could compare to what Jenn made for me and Su-Lynn! She made each of us a custom quilt with photos from various Dismeets and Disney trips! It was sooo amazing, I actually cried a bit! It truly was above and beyond and I’m still in awe of it!
Very nice! And very generous!
@docsoliday1 also brought his homemade cheesecake – I’m not a huge cheesecake fan, so decided to save stomach room for the bread pudding, but I heard it was delicious!
It was! (I got one too. :))
And here was the origin of this Trip Report title – as our cousin is shoveling shrimp onto Su-Queen's plate he looks at both of us, very solemn, and says – “Enjoy these moments, they are precious”. It was just hilarious!
:laughing:
When we finally boarded, it was just in time for the end of the fireworks, so we got to watch the finale as we pulled away from the dock!
Not bad!
And as we pulled into the Seven Seas Lagoon, what starts up 20 ft away from us? The Electrical Light Water Pageant! It was actually super fun to boat past those floats!
Awesome! So close!!
 
Finally, we headed back upstairs and got cleaned up and headed over to the Polynesian (the three of us decided to splurge on a Minnie Van too)
Ah you all look so pretty in your dresses!

But nothing could compare to what Jenn made for me and Su-Lynn! She made each of us a custom quilt with photos from various Dismeets and Disney trips! It was sooo amazing, I actually cried a bit! It truly was above and beyond and I’m still in awe of it!
Oh my gosh all the sweet little gifts and personal touches from everyone are really amazing. I'm really feeling the Dislove!

The good stuff – the sides! We got plenty of refills of this!
YES the sides are absolutely the best part. I could eat those dumplings and chicken wing things 24/7

What a fun big group dinner, and a great way to cap the night off by some entertainment on a boat and yummy drinks with new friends :)
 
Oh my goodness, this meal looked so fantastic and fun! I'm absolutely blown away by those beautiful quilts. What works of art! Incredibly well-deserved for all the hard work that you and Su-Lynn put in!
 
Okay, I have to fess up... I teared up reading about the EPIC Poly dinner! I think it's so amazing that Disney and the DISboards were able to bring so many people together! The great gifts, the great Cousin, the great food and the great friends... it looks like that was a really fun and special evening. I'm so glad you guys got to share this experience together!

(Cascadia Sangria Cocktail looks great, too. I will keep an eye out for that before we grab dinner at Artist Point this year!)
 
Here, we got to have Dismeets #18 19, 20, 21, 22, with Lindsay, Renee, Jennifer, Mary and Melinda (though I didn’t get to chat much with these lovely ladies)! Oh and @docsoliday1 also showed up – I barely got to chat with him though as he was at the other end of the table! It was time for our huge EPIC dinner! I think we ended up having 28 of us and took over 3 tables!
This would have been the best time ever!
But nothing could compare to what Jenn made for me and Su-Lynn! She made each of us a custom quilt with photos from various Dismeets and Disney trips! It was sooo amazing, I actually cried a bit! It truly was above and beyond and I’m still in awe of it!
This is amazing, I totally would have teared up too!
Finally it was time to eat! I forgot to take most food photos, so some of these were stolen from @fallonkendra , who actually was a responsible trip reporter and did take food photos (I think most of the rest of us got distracted and figured everyone else would be taking meal photos)!
Such a great meal!
And the lovely bread pudding (We didn’t pour the caramel sauce over this one because apparently @chunkymonkey has no taste and doesn’t like it, so instead we poured the sauce over each of our individual chunks!)
What??? How can anybody not like caramel sauce? Although I do prefer the Banana Foster sauce they used to have.
Our cousin! He was just perfect, having so much fun with us! Also we has some common ground as he was from Montreal and I went to university there!
See Canadians are always the best! I know you told me before, but did you go to McGill or Concordia?
After stuffing our faces, we tried to figure out the plan of action. We had considered the Poly beach for the fireworks, or trying to get to Top of the World Lounge, but in the end we decided to head for Geyser Point, where a couple more people were hanging out who didn’t come to dinner (#missingout). We hopped on the monorail (oh, Zach had also been eating at the Poly for dinner, so he tagged along, but I don't think I have photo evidence), got off at Magic Kingdom, then went down to the boat dock. We did have an ECV with us, so had to wait for one of the larger boats, and unfortunately that took a while, which was pretty annoying! Half of us got on the smaller boats, but others of us waited around. When we finally boarded, it was just in time for the end of the fireworks, so we got to watch the finale as we pulled away from the dock!
This was perfection! I watched your clip and started getting choked up just imagining the experience of being on the boat watching that. Yes, I am a sap and HEA gets me every time.......
And as we pulled into the Seven Seas Lagoon, what starts up 20 ft away from us? The Electrical Light Water Pageant! It was actually super fun to boat past those floats!
Even better! You were so lucky! :goodvibes
I also ordered a drink – I think the Cascadia Sangria Cocktail – Zodiac Black Cherry Vodka, fresh Lime Juice and Orange Juice topped with Columbia Crest H3 Merlot. (I basically asked the waitress for something fruity that didn’t have a strong alcohol taste, so this is what she recommended. It was actually very good.
I love that drink! So refreshing. :)
Fallon, Luke and I got to chat a bit more, because even though we had done the VIP tour together, we hadn’t really talked! It was fun getting to chat with some Canadians (I’m a dual citizen and even though I was born/raised in the US, I went to Canada for university).
Oh, that's how you ended up coming to Canada for university. Would you ever consider living in our glorious north?
 
O'Hana looked like it was so much fun!!! So happy you all were able to come by GP to finish the party that night!!!
 
Those quilts are incredible! All the time that must have gone into making them... what a special reminder of your trip!
 
Lesley, I am enjoying your trip reports so much, I have been reading over all of them lately. You seem to be a woman after my own heart, I tend not to post too much but lurk a lot. I did have to say on this one, those quilts, not sure which one of the lovely DIS ladies made those but oh my, what an amazing talent, that is one thing I would love to learn to do is quilting. Also if you are ever planning a trip and need a partner in crime, let me know.
 
The meal at 'Ohana looked like so much fun! The gifts that everyone made/purchased/brought are great - and oh my, those quilts! What a great memory of the trip!
 
FYI – I’m Chunkylander since I’m the Disneyland gal!
And here I thought this had something to do with Marvel that I know nothing about. My highlights get to my brain some days.

She really did out due her selves. These are amazing!

The good stuff – the sides! We got plenty of refills of this!

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I haven't been to Ohana in over 20 years and was looking forward to it cause I know I could eat my weight in "the good stuff."

as our cousin is shoveling shrimp onto Su-Queen's plate he looks at both of us, very solemn, and says – “Enjoy these moments, they are precious”. It was just hilarious!
:rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: I was wondering where that came from

It was a lovely long meal – I think close to 2.5 hrs!
That sounds perfect to me. From what I read most people are chased out of Ohana after 25 minutes these days :earboy2:

but in the end we decided to head for Geyser Point, where a couple more people were hanging out who didn’t come to dinner (#missingout).
We did miss out, but the Wilderness Lodge gang was nice enough to stay back and wait for me to get in!

We arrived at WL and headed to Geyser Point, where I got to have Dismeets #23 & 24 with Ariane and Kari.
Hey that's me! It was so great meeting you
 
Working on catching up again after a few days off...


I saw her too and she was totally adorable! But this guy's going to Mama to be comforted is such a sweet story.

I didn't know about this photo op!

I ended up deciding to get the pulled pork sandwich, rather than a platter, since I was alone.

I usually get that too there. Tasty and just the right size.

I did have to hike down to the bottom level to find an empty table – not so much fun with my feet, which were getting very very sore.

I know it's a little hike, but tbh, that's the prettiest seating area in the whole park IMHO.


3 of my favorite EPIC Peeps!

Liesa had made everyone cards with gorgeous photos of the pavilions at Epcot.

You're welcome! I hope you enjoy them. :)

Birthday song - Liesa and Jackie's birthdays were nearby (well I know Jackie's was a couple days later - I can't remember exactly when Liesa's was!)

Mine is the 8th, so a few days after that, but the whole trip was a big birthday celebration for me!

Such a fun dinner!!
 

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