Food, SQUIRREL, and When We Are Old...A March 2012 TR

[Lidian]

My DS6 absolutely loves Legos. So I was shocked we weren't forced to go visit the store. Perhaps he forgot about it?

I'm now upset that you sent pic texts to your BFF but not to me. I could have used some pic texts from others! D was the only one who thought of me while on vacay!

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

I'm a little late joining in but I made it still being day one.

I love the surprise video. I secretly still want to do that even though my kids are older.

So sorry your son got bitten by the squirrel. I'm glad everything turned out okay with that.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

I hear those vampire squirrels are a big problem down there

Seriously though, glad everything was okay after You never know!

Yes, after we all figured out he was going to be okay, we have had a blast teasing him with the SQUIRREL! jokes! I'm tellling you, I am a mean mommy...

Ok your video made me cry. I love it when kids get so excited and are thankful when their parents do something awesome for them. It was great.

The squirrel thing sounds like something my nephews would do. I totally pictured them doing that while you were telling the story. My sister went out once to find my nephews had a can full of dead bumblebees that they had killed and tore the wings off. No idea how they did this without getting stung. I think it's a boy thing. Hopefully Gabe was okay.

Enjoying your report.

We are definitely discovering that boys are completely different than girls! We had our girls back to back and then waited four years before we had Gabe...boy have we been in for a bumpy ride! And I wouldn't trade it for the world, Gabriel seems to ALWAYS keep a smile on our faces. He has a GREAT sense of humor and he is our most cuddly, loving child.

I'm finally here!! Great report so far!

I loved the video - definitely brought tears to my eyes!!

Your family is gorgeous, I'm so jealous of all the posing your kids do for photos. Mine, especially DS, want nothing to do with that!

Ouch for the squirrel bite!! I'd be a bit freaked out!! I saw a woman at the CSR hot tub feeding a squirrel...pina colada!!! It loved it.

Just wait with the Legos, at 5, your son is just getting to that age. It seems to bigger with the boys than the girls!

Sandy's here!!!

Yeah, my kids are pretty great. We have tried to instill an appreciation in them for life...the small things and the big things. It does a mommy's heart some good when that appreciation shines through.

Oh, my kids LOVE to have their picture taken, all three of them! No problem getting them to pose!

DS plays with Legos at school, but so far it involves building swords, light sabres, etc...all things he has in his toybox at home. LOL!

My DS6 absolutely loves Legos. So I was shocked we weren't forced to go visit the store. Perhaps he forgot about it?

I'm now upset that you sent pic texts to your BFF but not to me. I could have used some pic texts from others! D was the only one who thought of me while on vacay!

I am a terrible Dis friend... forgive me? I will make it up to you on our next trip...to anywhere. I will send lots and lots of pictures of random things just so you will feel loved.

I'm a little late joining in but I made it still being day one.

I love the surprise video. I secretly still want to do that even though my kids are older.

So sorry your son got bitten by the squirrel. I'm glad everything turned out okay with that.

Hey, the party has just started. You are just "fashionably late."

You should definitely surprise your kids, just once. It is AWESOME! (and it makes for a great TR. )

DS survived the squirrel attack, and now has a whole new appreciation for wild animals!

 

[oopsiDAISY]

I do believe the time has come to wrap up Day 1 of our trip. So without further ado...

DAY 1, MARCH 8, 2012...cont.'d

We were finally through our squirrel drama and in DESPERATE need of some fun as our name was called to be taken to our table at Raglan Road. We were excited to see the dances, eat some good food, and hopefully hear a great band. We were taken to a table...way in the back of the restaurant. We were seated in the Music Room (for those who have been there, you may or may not know what I am referring too). We were seated at the "high boy" table in the center of the room with the tall chairs. Okay, there was a pole in between us and the stage, but we could manage. We would make the most of this experience. Our server came and took our drink orders and asked if we were on the dining plan. We told him that yes, we were indeed on the dining plan...and this is when our service went south for the evening.

It took about 15 minutes for him to bring our drinks. He also brought soda bread and a guinness and oil plate to dip in:

I bread, but I wasn't crazy about the soda bread. This is not to say that the soda bread wasn't good, it was just a personal preference. The guiness and oil were good. I could have totally gone nuts with some O'Charley's dinner rolls dipped in it!

While we sipped our drinks and picked at the bread that none of us really liked we waited for the dancers to come out. We placed our entree orders and waited some more for the dancers. Brian left the table to take Gabe to the potty when our food came out...like five minutes after we ordered it. Oh wait...that is not our food you are putting on our table, it is someone else's order! While the boys were in the restroom Jillian just started crying hysterically...

"What's wrong?"

" I am just so glad Gabe is okay. He could have been hurt so bad. That was so scary, Mommy!"

I just love my tender-hearted Jillybean! After reassuring her that he was okay and was acting just as honary as always rotfl2, she calmed down and the evening continued.

The boys came back to the table, and after waiting a NORMAL amount of time our own food did arrive:

Brian ordered a Lamb Shank with Mash (not on allears menu, so I can't give the full name)

I had the Keen Eye for the Shephard's Pie:

and Jillian had the Sod the Stew:

]

*note: I will only have pictures of the adult meals, because, quite honestly, I just didn't want to take pictures of chicken nuggets and cheese pizza all week.

This was one of my "I wish I had ordered THAT" meals. I really like Shephard's Pie, but my family does not so I don't make it at home. I was really looking forward to enjoying some of the "real deal" at RR. I was disappointed. I am not used to having it with lamb (yes, I am aware this is how it SHOULD be made). I used to make it with ground beef. It was also sort of bland. I added salt... I don't like having to add salt to what should be a delicious meal at a restaurant. All that being said....I LOVED Jillian's stew! That stuff was phemomenal! She shared quite a bit with me, since she is not a big eater and it was so delicious. Brian's Lamb Shank was tender, juicy and "Truly Scrumtious" too. I wish I had ordered either one of those!

At some point while we ate our entrees I drank all my tea. Our server never came back to check on our meals to make sure everything was okay or offer drink refills. (I had tea, not a specialty drink)

So as we were eating our dinner we were STILL waiting for the dancers. When all of a sudden the band started setting up. Okay, so we would get to see the band! I had not been here before, so in my mind I thought maybe the dancers would come out and perform with the band at some point. Not so much. They never did come and perform on the stage that night.

BUT WAIT!!! We are about to recieve some pixie dust here folks! BUT before I share that...

We finished our entrees and were ready to order dessert. We weren't really hungry for dessert, but it comes on the dining plan so we were going to order it. The two little ones were disappointed that they could only order ice cream, but we promised them we would share our bounty. Brian ordered Bailey's Brule' Tart, I ordered the Ger's Bread and Butter Pudding and Jillian ordered the Dunbrody Kiss (think chocolate with chocolate on top of chocolate).

While we waited for dessert, we watched the band set up. Then we waited longer for our dessert while the band warmed up. While we were still waiting for our dessert the band played their first set. We waited some more for desserts to arrive, wishing we had some drink refills. Then we waited longer for dessert as the band announced they would be taking their first break. Then we waited for dessert a little longer when out of nowhere...PIXIE DUST!















All of a sudden three dancers came back to the music room with a Karaoke machine and half of a wooden door. Oh yes, folks this is some goooooood pixie dust. They plopped that wooden door right on the floor two feet from our table and fired up some Irish music and danced right there in front of us!!! Charity remembers this as one of her favorite moments of vacation. I tried to get pictures, but they were literally TOO CLOSE! and too fast! It was truly a great memory smack dab in the middle of a miserable evening when we were all ready just to go back to the room and crash.


We finally got our desserts. I have no pictures, because we were all emotionally and physically drained by this time and just wanted to eat it and leave. Brian's Creme Brule' was not what we expected. It came out in a slice, like pie. My Bread Pudding was sooooooo huge and sooooooo divine. Jillian really liked her chocolate overload too. Gabe and Charity liked daddy's desert and Jilly's dessert, but had no interest in mine. Oh well.

We finished dessert, and I will spare you the drama of how long it took to get the check. That waiter must have not liked that we were on the dining plan. He only came to the table to take orders and help deliver food. Period. We never got a single drink refill, and it took forever and a day to get desserts and the check. We left him a good tip despite this, hoping not all folks on the dining plan would get a bad rap as we had for whatever reason.

We dragged ourselves across Downtown Disney and into the boat headed for POR. We were TIRED! Oh, but the evening is not quite over...

 

[oopsiDAISY]

We got back to POR in time to head down to the River Roost Lounge. We had a Dismeet to go to! Yeeha Bob was in full swing. He was funny and really engaged the audience a lot. I circled around the lounge from time to time and could not find any Dis friends. But alas, with one last ditch effort I decided to try the lobby... and there they were! We were all exhausted and only visited a few minutes, but it was great meeting everyone. Here is a very photobombed picture of us:

Standing in the back from left to right is: Lidian, D~, and Corrine (with Liddy's friend Akki peaking over her shoulder). I am the one kneeling in the black shirt, and D~'s oldest DD is beside me...and doing the "drive by" in the front is Lidian's DS.

I loved seeing the custom park bags that D~ had made (Donald Duck for herself and the Evil Queen for Lidian). They were so cute! I got to meet D~'s beautiful daughters. Corrine brought me the cutest little lime green mickey key chain so I could be "representin" the Disboards while in the parks that week. Liddy's whole family came, along with two of her World of Warcraft friends. We marveled at how much taller her 10 yr old daughter was than our 10 yr old daughter. We tried to laso the boys into talking/playing with each other, but there was just too much room in that lobby to run around and get into other sorts of mischief.

It was a great Meet, but we were all exhausted! They had all had full park days and our family had been up since 5am. Jillian kept asking me repeatedly if we could go back to the room. While we wanted to visit longer, we all had to admit to each other that we just wanted to call it a night. You know you have found some good friends when upon first meeting you can say, "this was fun, but I want sleep" and no one gets offended! I look forward to cultivating these friendships through many years of Dis-ing, and some more Dismeets thrown in the mix!

We parted ways and headed back to our room. We all had quick showers and hit the hay...

Where will we go for our first park day? We had a full day ahead, and it was packed with fun!!!!

 

[oopsiDAISY]

So, I was just watching a video from the Disney Parks Blog...which led me to a link to another Disney Parks blog video. Why am I talking about it here?!? Because this video was shot while we were waiting for our table at RR on March 8th! Check it out...

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...ey-parks-blog-author-digs-a-fleet-footed-jig/

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

So sorry you had a bad experience at Ranglan Road. I've never eaten there because the menu just doesn't appeal to my family but I always thought it was such a fun place to be.
Funny thing when I looked at the photo you just posted I immediately thought I know those people. Well, not really but I read their trip reports and have seen pictures of them several times so they seem like friends.

 

[sandym718]

Great update!!

I'm still sad I missed the DisMeet, but it just didn't work out for me this time. Great picture!

 

[DMGeurts]

Excellent update Oopsi - WOW you really got the photo bombed picture! ROFL... Sorry about that.

I agree - it was so fun meeting - but it was also nice to be able to say... "Great to meetcha, but I'm tired" ROFL I am sure there will be more meets in our future!

D~

 

[Lidian]

First off, I absolutely LOVE your DISmeet picture. You were very speical to get photobombed the most!

Sorry that your first meal was such a bad experience. From a server's standpoint (as I used to wait tables), you should have alerted the manager. Honestly, if I had been there, I would have alerted the manager and I would NOT have tipped well. I'm sorry -- but that was unacceptable. Now, if the server was frazzled, busy, etc. That's a different story and I would be more understanding and lenient. But EVERY server knows to check on their table AT LEAST every 5 minutes, and to always do a first-bite check-in to make sure the food was satisfactory. It's not until the first bite that the guest doesn't know if the meal was cooked properly, fresh, seasoned, etc. A manager should definitely have been alerted so the server could repeat training if needed (or released if serving wasn't his "thing"). Sorry, but bad servers really make me MAD.

Anyway, glad that you got some personal dancers! That's awesome!

I swear I had more to write, but the kids have been in here 15 times asking questions, so I totally don't remember what I've read.

 

[MissPrice]

Hey There I'm joining in...great report so far! I don't think you have anything to worry about when it comes to the squirrel. It's when the nocturnal animals (like racoons and foxes) are out in the day that you worry. And what is up with Downtown Disney and the dining plan??? The same exact thing happened to my husband and I at Wolfgang Puck's when we told the waiter we were on the dining plan. I swear I heard him mutter something under his breath. But I tipped him well just to spite him! Sorry for the rant....you have a beautiful family. The kids are so cute. Can't wait to read more. -Amanda

 

[cajunfan]

I'm enjoying your trip report!

You will have to come by the Disney Store Outlet in Opry Mills...I work there...and I will have the Figment Bag there with me!

Can't wait to read more!

Lynn

 

[oopsiDAISY]

So sorry you had a bad experience at Ranglan Road. I've never eaten there because the menu just doesn't appeal to my family but I always thought it was such a fun place to be.
Funny thing when I looked at the photo you just posted I immediately thought I know those people. Well, not really but I read their trip reports and have seen pictures of them several times so they seem like friends.

Yes, this is a restaurant I had read numerous rave reviews on, we were really looking forward to it. The food was good, the service was just really a disappointment. Not to mention the fact that we were all still emotionally shaken up from Gabe's fight with the squirrel. It was a tough evening. Since it holds not so great memories for us, we will probably never go back.

I know, I was able to immediately spot them. I knew those faces and smiles! It was great meeting them. Next time will be better, we will plan better!

Great update!!

I'm still sad I missed the DisMeet, but it just didn't work out for me this time. Great picture!

Sandy, we looked for you! I am sure since you were with such a big group you were at the mercy of the others. I thought maybe Tink may have still been sick too. We understood, but we still missed you!

Excellent update Oopsi - WOW you really got the photo bombed picture! ROFL... Sorry about that.

I agree - it was so fun meeting - but it was also nice to be able to say... "Great to meetcha, but I'm tired" ROFL I am sure there will be more meets in our future!

D~

Yes, my Dismeet picture is a limited edition one of a kind! We will definitely plan better for the next Dismeet....when we are not all exhausted!

First off, I absolutely LOVE your DISmeet picture. You were very speical to get photobombed the most!

Sorry that your first meal was such a bad experience. From a server's standpoint (as I used to wait tables), you should have alerted the manager. Honestly, if I had been there, I would have alerted the manager and I would NOT have tipped well. I'm sorry -- but that was unacceptable. Now, if the server was frazzled, busy, etc. That's a different story and I would be more understanding and lenient. But EVERY server knows to check on their table AT LEAST every 5 minutes, and to always do a first-bite check-in to make sure the food was satisfactory. It's not until the first bite that the guest doesn't know if the meal was cooked properly, fresh, seasoned, etc. A manager should definitely have been alerted so the server could repeat training if needed (or released if serving wasn't his "thing"). Sorry, but bad servers really make me MAD.

Anyway, glad that you got some personal dancers! That's awesome!

I swear I had more to write, but the kids have been in here 15 times asking questions, so I totally don't remember what I've read.

I was thinking of selling that Dismeet picture on Ebay since it is so rare....but decided, it was quite PRICELESS!

RR was just not a good experience for us. We were already emotionally charged from Gabe's run in with the rodent, and the lousy service just broke it for us. While the food was good and we really enjoyed the entertainment, we will probably never go back. Some memories are just not worth revisiting...

Hey There I'm joining in...great report so far! I don't think you have anything to worry about when it comes to the squirrel. It's when the nocturnal animals (like racoons and foxes) are out in the day that you worry. And what is up with Downtown Disney and the dining plan??? The same exact thing happened to my husband and I at Wolfgang Puck's when we told the waiter we were on the dining plan. I swear I heard him mutter something under his breath. But I tipped him well just to spite him! Sorry for the rant....you have a beautiful family. The kids are so cute. Can't wait to read more. -Amanda

, so glad to have your here! Yes, truthfully...and I hate to say this...but honestly, we probably won't even go back to DTD again at all. It was just too crowded. We weren't really there to buy anything, and then the bad service just set us over the top. It all just left a bad taste in our mouths...

I'm enjoying your trip report!

You will have to come by the Disney Store Outlet in Opry Mills...I work there...and I will have the Figment Bag there with me!

Can't wait to read more!

Lynn

Welcome!!! I am so excited to meet another Tennesseean...and a local one at that! Not sure when I will make it to the mall up there, but I will definitely look for you and that D~ custom Figment bag when I do!! I cannot tell you how excited I am to hear that Nashville has a Disney Store now!!!!!! DH will not be happy...he will just see $$$$ disappearing before his eyes! I must make plans to visit very soon.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

I thought I would take time out of the TR to throw in some "between Disney trips" pictures...you know, pictures taken in the real world. Easter pictures anyone?

Here are the baskets before they were attacked (yes, I make a basket for my hubby every year-his is the little one in the front)...

Every Easter we have the same breakfast, Resurrection Rolls. Here are the kids making them...

Here are the little darlings all dressed up and ready to worship our risen Savior...

And Gabe enjoying the spoils of an Easter egg hunt with his cousin...

The last picture is some very special Mickey mail we got yesterday...

We were really surprised and excited to get this. Do these come very often after trips? We didn't get one last year. Brian says it is because we stayed at a mod this time instead of a value. Any one else get one of these?

 

[oopsiDAISY]

I'm enjoying your trip report!

You will have to come by the Disney Store Outlet in Opry Mills...I work there...and I will have the Figment Bag there with me!

Can't wait to read more!

Lynn

Hey, do you all sell the little people wearing Mickey ears decals for cars? Do you know what I am talking about? Folks put them in their back windows...a family of them. I wanted some while we were at Disney, but I had already spent all of my souvie money elsewhere. DH says we can come up to Opry Mills and get some if you have them. Wow- this gives the phrase "shopping online" a whole new meaning!

 

[wakica]

Looks like you had a very nice Easter

Were those marshmallows I saw going into those cressent rolls???? What exactly do you use to make your ressurection rolls?? I've heard of them but never looked up a recipe or anything for them.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Looks like you had a very nice Easter

Were those marshmallows I saw going into those cressent rolls???? What exactly do you use to make your ressurection rolls?? I've heard of them but never looked up a recipe or anything for them.

Resurrection Rolls are a simple way to tell the story of Easter to your kids and end up with a yummy treat in the end. All you need are cressant rolls, large marshmallows, some melted butter and cinnamon sugar.

The lesson to go along with it is this: the marshmallow represents Jesus. You roll the marshmallow in melted butter that represents the oil Jesus' body was anointed with before burial. You then coat the marshmallow with cinnamon sugar to represent the spices that people in that day and age used to help preserve the body. You then wrap the marshmallow in a cressant roll, the shroud that covered Jesus' body. Lastly you place them in the oven (the tomb) and when you take them out, the marshmallow is melted. It leaves a gooey yumminess in the roll which is still puffed up and completely hollow, like the empty tomb and grave shroud!

 

[disneymomjcs]

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

Love your daughter's Mickey robe!

 

[ADisneyQueen]

I've never received one of those cards after a trip, just survey emails. I guess they are trying to keep you in the cult so you'll book another trip!