Hop, Skip and a Week!! A TR Full of Mayhem, Masticating and Mortification!-Updt 4/29

[gellybean]

Another great update!! I'm really glad that Dash seemed to be okay!! Sounds like you had a really fun day! I love BTMRR and you were brave souls riding Splash Mountain LOL...I have only ridden that once and it was enough for me LOL!!!

Well I'm glad to hear Sare and her sister made it safely to Orlando YAY!! I hope they have a great time!!!

Dash did improve really quickly once he rode his favorite 'slow' roller coaster, Splash Mountain. He did cling to me the first ride on BTMRR but the second one he had his hands in the air. I was a proud mama!!! So yes, I'd say it looked at that point like he was getting better. Hmmmmm... I wonder if the trend will contiunue.

Hook, Line and Tumble, I'm in

Nice start.

YO

Thanks and Hope ya didn't hurt yourself on the way down that tumble.



I promise I'm working on another update, but I realized I need to slow it down a bit. #1 I don't want my TR to be over too quickly, gotta drag it out to prolong it all being officially over and #2 I realized how much I'm leaving out that I keep remembering. Case in point Dash clinging to me on BTMRR the first time and then putting his arms in the air on ride #2. That's important details, right there and I completely left them out on Day 2, Part 1! So I'm making sure I don't leave anything out.

Also...I must share with y'all my news because frankly y'all are probably the only people on earth that could possibly understand.... how.... someone that just RETURNED from Disneyworld two weeks ago......


could....






possibly....









have booked another trip in August?!!?!?!?!!!!



That's right, folks. I got the free dining PIN code in my email this afternoon and I booked a trip for just Mr. Incredible and I the week before Dash starts First Grade!!!! I'm super excited about it. Now I just need to tell Mr. Incredible when he gets home from work. I booked Pop again but I did price AKL. Oh how tempting it is to upgrade since it's an adult only trip and it's gonna be sweltering in August and we might just spend a fair amount of time in our resort this time. Hmmmm. Choices, choices, choices!!!


Be back later with Day 2, Part 2!!!


Disney wishes!!!!

 

[gellybean]

When I left off we were back at the hotel and getting ready for our first of three scheduled date nights. Part of the reason the g-ma's were invited along on this trip was to have built in baby sitters! We were planning to take full advantage of this handy perk.

Dash was exhausted after feeling rotten all day. He curled up in the spare bed in our room with his bounty from the POTC gift shop after a dose of Allegra and another dose of children's Tylenol. He passed out! I mean he was out before I could get my clothes changed and all I was doing was changing from jeans to black slacks! Poor lil guy. He was so tired. My mom sat in our room with Jack-Jack while Mary Poppins went and laid down for a bit. We had called and uped our reservations from 9:50pm to 9:00pm. We went ahead and drove over there around 8pm using Mary Poppin's van. I have to admit I'm a little spoiled now, after having a vehicle to zip places on this trip. Especially in 'off' season when buses aren't running to the parks late at night.

We kiss Jack-Jack and head out. I was a lil sad... I mean we've gone on dates before at home just the two of us but for some reason I really felt it leaving him this time. I quickly perked up, holding hands with my hubby in my happy place. Keep in mind he had never been to Disney before and so far, I thought he was kinda digging it. I hadn't really had a chance to ask him yet, but planned to over dinner. We slowly strolled aka limped our way to the very far away 60s parking lot, hopped in the Mary Poppins mobile and were off! I had mapquested directions from Pop to AKL before leaving home and had them in my not so hot little hands. It was easily in the upper 30s that night. Brrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

We got to AKL in 10 mins and found a place to park. Standing in our parking space was a ferious feline! I felt truly welcomed to the AKL with such a creature standing guard over our spot. The cute little tabby cat dashed off in search for food I'm sure. We strolled (limped) up the steps to the covered entry way of AKL and into the much appreciated warmth of their lobby. I loved it immediately which frankly surprised me. I'm not much of a Zoo person nor have I ever really dreamed of going on safari in Africa, but all the dark wood and comfy sofas and the fire pits really made me wanna stay here!! I loved the bridges over Boma leading to the lounge they have there. I loved the cushy bouncy giraffe print carpets in the hall ways. Loved the shop, too cute with all it's AKL themed merchandise. Would have loved the Mickey leopard print pj's but wasn't paying that much for something to sleep in that no body but my boys would see !!

After walking the length of the lobby and back again, shopping for a bit, we went ahead and made our way to Jiko.... after taking a wrong turn and walking down what ended up being a guest room hallway. Oopsie!!

When we checked in it was 8:30pm, a full hour and 20 mins ahead of our original reservation and 30 mins ahead of our new reservation. We were seated within 10 mins of checking in. I was happy.

We were led to the very back step up area and were seated at a four top, with maybe two other tables occupied in our area. Our server, Shellie, was fantastic. She wins the best service of the trip award, hands down. We started with water and ordered a few cocktails. I had their version of a Margarita which had cranberry juice in it- Yes please to the salt !! Mr. Incredible ordered the Hanging out in Capetown, which surprised me cus normally he's a Jack and Coke kinda guy, but when in Disney... I guess. I tried his and he tried mine and we both agreed we liked our own orders better than the other's, which was handy cus I wasn't giving him my drink!!! One margarita and I was feeling flushed! It packed a whallup. Course, I'm a pretty cheap drunk!

For appetizer we ordered the Chef's Specialty Flatbread- I didn't write down the official description and it's not on Allears but it had Shrimp, red, green and yellow bell peppers, goat cheese and a Zough sour cream which was basically chilantro flavored sour cream. This was so good!!! I wanted to try the Taste of Africa too but the shrimp flatbread really tempted us and I was glad we ordered it to share.

For entrees, Mr. I ordered the Kenyan Coffee Barbeque Braised Short Ribs and I ordered the Filet with Mac N Cheese, sauce on the side. My steak was fantastic and the mac really great but I have to say Mr. I out ordered me on the entree. The shortribs were OMG, melt in your mouth, mother may I have another, please just share that last crumb with me!!! GOOOOOOOD! Thankfully Mr. I was feeling generous....maybe it was the cocktail, maybe it was the Disney magic, maybe he just loves me.... but he shared four bites of heaven on a plate with me. Can't say enough about his shortribs!! If we go back, I will be ordering those babies!

I think it was about that time that I asked Mr. Incredible what he thought of Disney and while he never came out and said he loved it, I got the general idea that he was indeed having a great time and was looking forward to seeing what else was in store with the remaining parks and restaurants we had planned. I had told myself that I didn't know if I wanted him to like it or not, because he might not let me go with my mom and sister without him if he did , but let's be honest. I desperately wanted him to like it. It's such a big part of me, and he and I definitely have our differences... and this was one thing we could share. I was .

Dessert came round and I ordered the Pistachio Creme Brulee and Mr. Incredible ordered the No Sugar added Pumpkin and Dried Fruit Bread Pudding. Mr. I is not diabetic and in fact, has a major sweet tooth... he just wasn't feeling up to something overly sweet to mess with his just ordered Pot O Kenyan Coffee!! He and the server had a funny little dialog over the french press. See, Mr. I is in the restaurant business. We had our own little cafe a few years ago and he is somewhat of a self-taught chef. So when she plopped that press down on the table.... ok gracefully set in down lightly.... and she didn't move to press it, he went to grab it out from her hand and press it himself.

Truth be told, he probably wanted to play with a new gadget. I swear, she smacked his hand away. By that time, we had been chit-chatting and picking on her and she'd dish it right back, so I guess she felt comfortable enough to assault a customer. She informed him that her french press was like the movie Dirty Dancing. The pot was her dance space!! Which I cracked up at but Mr. I just kinda blinked at her. I'm afraid I have to admit he's never seen Dirty Dancing. I mean he got it for the reference about the French press....a Big Sign that said HANDS OFF BUSTER! But I found it more amusing than he I believe. Apparently, it needed to steep a little longer to be strong enough so she was waiting on it.

She insisted that I try the coffee as well, even though I tried to tell her I just don't like coffee. I have tried and tried to develop a taste for it but I just don't like it. She poured me a baby bit in the bottom of the warmed coffee cups she brought us and I added enough cream and sugar to make Mr. I gasp at me, and I still didn't like it. Mr. I drank 3 huge cups of it to make up for the two person serving being drank by one man!

The desserts were great, I definitely enjoyed my creme brulee and Mr. I said his dessert was just what he wanted, so there ya go. Just goes to show you that you never really know anyone.

We paid our bill and said goodbye to Shellie and hobbled out of the restaurant. We made our way outside and walked to Mara. I knew that you could get Zebra domes in their grab n go and by this time it was 10:40pm and Mara closed at 11pm. We had spent 2 hrs at Jiko!!! *insert wistful sigh smilie here* We definitely want to go back to Jiko and I was a little worried that I may have put the BEST at the front of our vacation and that we were gonna have a hard time topping our experience this night. I decided to let it go and just enjoy it for what it was.

Once at Mara, we bought one package of Zebra Domes to take back to share with the g-ma's. We slowly walked back under the breezeway, watching the steam rising off the pool because it was so cold, to the Boma/Jiko area and onto the elevator. We walked the length of the lobby once more and then left with a smile.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Let me interrupt our regularly scheduled trip report to include the following sidebar:

During the middle of all our sappy, happy good dinner, I have to let you know about the communication with the g-ma's. I didn't want to put it in the middle of all the dining goodness, cus I didn't want to disturb the flow. I'm rolling my eyes at myself there, btw.

So I had left my cell phone with my mom, because Mr. I had his on him. I had shown her how to text before we left, because I did not want to call and wake up anyone! Learned that the hard way before. Mom texted us back then and there while we were sitting there to help her, and she got the concept and was good to go. She texted us 'All is ok'. Easy enough. I knew that if she needed us to return early, she would just call us since there was no one to wake up on our end.

When we arrived at Jiko and were able to be seated early, I texted "Cked in 30 mins early. Love the resort. How are the boys?" I got the following jumble back:

A llllll issssssssss moooooooooooooooooookkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk.



I died laughing when I got this, shared it with Mr. Incredible and we resumed dinner.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------


We got back in the Mary Poppins Mobile and were back at the resort by 11:30pm. Got to the room to find a very happy hyper Jack-Jack entertaining the g-ma's in their room and a STILL asleep Dash. Poor guy. I checked his forehead and he didn't seem to have any fever, so I hoped that his sleep was a healing sleep and just what he needed. We slipped out of our room and into the g-ma's room. I laid out on the bed and propped my hurt knee up. And we presented the g-ma's with the zebra domes. We had one a piece, with my mom taking the extra last one. She reallllllly liked them. Don't get me wrong, I liked them too, having never tried them before, but after all that GREAT food at Jiko they didn't blow my socks off. But FGM ?? Well she was in heaven.

Suddenly, she asked me if I got her text and I bust out laughing. I say

"You mean the A llllll issssssssss moooooooooooooooooookkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk. one? "

I draw on the ooo and sss and put the Mmmmmmmmmm in front of ok as best I can. Please keep in mind I had very little sleep the last few days, and had a margarita at dinner!

We all even though it probably wasn't that funny. Apparently she had tried to text without her glasses on, while Jack-Jack was sleeping in her lap. FGM couldn't even see what she was texting, she just hoped it would get there and I would get the hint that all was indeed ok.

We sat and chatted about the meal and the resort, thanked them profusely for watching the boys, heard all about how much food they had piled into Jack-Jack during the 3.5 hours we had been gone and took leave of them back to our room.

It was a great first day, truly.


On the next episode of Hop, Skip and a Week....


Epcot, Day 3- Would we get on the bus at the time I had scheduled? Would we get to ride Soarin'? Would we get to ride anything??? Does Dash wake up refreshed and ready to go or does he relapse?!

Stay tuned!!!!

Disney Wishes!!!!


P.S. Sorry for the lack of pictures, I forgot my camera at Pop that night.

 

[gellybean]

Just called and switched our August ressie at the Pop to a September ressie at AKL!!!!

Super excited!!!

It'll be our fifth anniversary this September, plus I'm hoping it's a little less crowded and a lil less hot in September than AugUST!! A girl can dream, right??

We'll be there for six nights, and will be leaving the boys with my mom, here at our house, so Dash can go to school and Jack-Jack can have his own bed, and surroundings. I'll miss the boys like crazy but you have to put your marriage first sometimes!

Disney wishes!

 

[passthepixiedust]

Congrats on September at the AKL!

An adults only trip to WDW is wonderful, you guys will have a great time. Can't wait to read more!

 

[coachyo]

Yee Haw!!! You're gonna love AKL, we stayed there once before and it was very nice. You will love the whole place. You already have a good knowledge of the place. What view did you do? We had a poolview and I requested a 1st floor room so we could have the patio instead of the balcony. I really like being able to sit out there and listen to the music and hide behind the foliage. It was very cool and our private little cubby hole. Also it made for easy access to the Mara and the pool. We were in the Giraff trail rooms. I think that was the area. We loved the location.
Looking forward to the next instalment.

YO

 

[bethk78]

Loved your PTR and lovin' your TR. Stayed up waaaaay past my bedtime to catch up. Can't wait for your next post.

 

[brookelizabeth]

YAY Brooke!!! I'm so excited you're reading. I'm a big fan and you were a huge help in preparing me to let the plans go to the wayside if I had to and just soak up watching my boys!!!

Definitely an adventure taking a one year old, for sure. I am tossing around the idea of a trip in December and can only imagine how much different it will be when he can walk and wants OUT of his stroller! But I wouldn't change it for anything!!

I'm glad I was a help! I really had to mentally prepare before the trip to NOT expect to do everything I was hoping and told myself numerous times "go with the flow", and I'm so thankful I did that considering what the November trip held!

I wouldn't change a thing about our little ones either! It is PRECIOUS! It sure makes Disney a bit more, uh-well...uh..."adventurous"...but it's memorable and WONDERFUL!

I am LOVING LOVING LOVING your TR! You are hilarious!!!!!!!!! I love your writing style! Very, very entertaining.

And CONGRATULATIONS on your September trip! AKL is fantastic!! I'm not a big zoo person either - the animals at AKL are nice, but not the draw fro me. It's the overal atmosphere like you mentioned, the dark woods, the wonderful scents, the cushy carpeting You and Mr. I will just love staying there I am sure. I cannot recall if I've seen you on the AKL thread or not, but if you haven't found it-let me know and I'll get you hooked up with the AKL nutties. (Hence my tag, "Jambo Wildbunch Gang" it's for an AKL thread) It's got a lot of chit chat, but the people on there are great and will answer any and ALL questions about AKL you've got. Plus pictures often appear of the beautiful lodge to tide us over until our next visits. One gal lives right in Celebration, she is at AKL almost weekly - she has mentioned Shellie (your server from Jiko) several times, to the point where I nodded when I read about how you had fantastic service with her - she has a great reputation!

I really hope to dine at Jiko someday - maybe in December... It sounds like such a romantic evening, and much needed for parents of two!

Anyway, I am so sorry about your fall at the airport! Eeek! I do hope your knee gets better. And with Dash being sick - I hope he starts to feel better too. I laughed out loud at the part about the CM greeting everyone with a "Hi Princess!" and you praying you wouldn't get her - that is SO ME! I would just be annoyed by that too if I were in the same situation you had been in.

During our trip at the airprot this past time, when we picked up our luggage, we were already on B, and our luggage was RIGHT outside the door, so it was super slick. I have to keep in mind if we ever are on a flight that goes to A to just let ME take care of it!

Your adventures at MK sound great - I hope you are able to take in the parade and Wishes later in the week.
The texting adventure was SO FUNNY! I can just picture it. And the Dirty Dancing comment, LOVE IT! "Nobody puts Baby in the corner!" My DH totally wouldn't have gotten it either.

Jack-Jack is beyond adorable. I love that pic of him all bundled up. So sweet.

Gosh, that was a long reply - LOL - sorry! I just had so much to comment on - looking forward to more TR!

 

[gellybean]

Congrats on September at the AKL!

An adults only trip to WDW is wonderful, you guys will have a great time. Can't wait to read more!

Thanks!!! Can't wait. Just crossing my fingers nothing falls through between now and then.

Yee Haw!!! You're gonna love AKL, we stayed there once before and it was very nice. You will love the whole place. You already have a good knowledge of the place. What view did you do? We had a poolview and I requested a 1st floor room so we could have the patio instead of the balcony. I really like being able to sit out there and listen to the music and hide behind the foliage. It was very cool and our private little cubby hole. Also it made for easy access to the Mara and the pool. We were in the Giraff trail rooms. I think that was the area. We loved the location.
Looking forward to the next instalment.

YO

I'll definitely look into pool view!! Thanks for the advice! Super excited about staying there!!

Loved your PTR and lovin' your TR. Stayed up waaaaay past my bedtime to catch up. Can't wait for your next post.

Thanks and !


Update to follow, Jack-Jack willing.

 

[gellybean]

I'm glad I was a help! I really had to mentally prepare before the trip to NOT expect to do everything I was hoping and told myself numerous times "go with the flow", and I'm so thankful I did that considering what the November trip held!

I wouldn't change a thing about our little ones either! It is PRECIOUS! It sure makes Disney a bit more, uh-well...uh..."adventurous"...but it's memorable and WONDERFUL!

I am LOVING LOVING LOVING your TR! You are hilarious!!!!!!!!! I love your writing style! Very, very entertaining.

And CONGRATULATIONS on your September trip! AKL is fantastic!! I'm not a big zoo person either - the animals at AKL are nice, but not the draw fro me. It's the overal atmosphere like you mentioned, the dark woods, the wonderful scents, the cushy carpeting You and Mr. I will just love staying there I am sure. I cannot recall if I've seen you on the AKL thread or not, but if you haven't found it-let me know and I'll get you hooked up with the AKL nutties. (Hence my tag, "Jambo Wildbunch Gang" it's for an AKL thread) It's got a lot of chit chat, but the people on there are great and will answer any and ALL questions about AKL you've got. Plus pictures often appear of the beautiful lodge to tide us over until our next visits. One gal lives right in Celebration, she is at AKL almost weekly - she has mentioned Shellie (your server from Jiko) several times, to the point where I nodded when I read about how you had fantastic service with her - she has a great reputation!

I really hope to dine at Jiko someday - maybe in December... It sounds like such a romantic evening, and much needed for parents of two!

Anyway, I am so sorry about your fall at the airport! Eeek! I do hope your knee gets better. And with Dash being sick - I hope he starts to feel better too. I laughed out loud at the part about the CM greeting everyone with a "Hi Princess!" and you praying you wouldn't get her - that is SO ME! I would just be annoyed by that too if I were in the same situation you had been in.

During our trip at the airprot this past time, when we picked up our luggage, we were already on B, and our luggage was RIGHT outside the door, so it was super slick. I have to keep in mind if we ever are on a flight that goes to A to just let ME take care of it!

Your adventures at MK sound great - I hope you are able to take in the parade and Wishes later in the week.
The texting adventure was SO FUNNY! I can just picture it. And the Dirty Dancing comment, LOVE IT! "Nobody puts Baby in the corner!" My DH totally wouldn't have gotten it either.

Jack-Jack is beyond adorable. I love that pic of him all bundled up. So sweet.

Gosh, that was a long reply - LOL - sorry! I just had so much to comment on - looking forward to more TR!

Brooke!!!!! Seems we were posting at the same time and I missed your post earlier!! I'm so glad you're enjoying the tr and thank you so much for the sweet comments!

I'd love a link over to the AKL link. I thought your Jambo Wildbunch Gang was DVC reference. @ me!

The knee is much better, thanks but the foot still hurts in certain shoes. Go figure!

Honestly, the trek from A to B wouldn't have been as bad if we hadn't had a bizzilion pieces of luggage!

Shellie was awesome. We were so lucky to randomly end up in her section. You and Joe should definitely try it out went Henry gets old enough for KidCare or if you end up taking your sister, maybe she could watch him!

Never be sorry for long replies. You can hijack my tr anytime !

 

[gellybean]

So about that update.... Jack-Jack was NOT willing. He managed to erase a whole lotta post with the banging of some keys, on the side withOUT the backspace and delete key. He's either going to be a computer genius or the bane of technology when he grows up. That kid has talent at stopping me from working on my TR when he's awake.

Which brings us to this attempt, cus he's asleep! Finally!

Where was I........... Day 3, Epcot.... It's all coming back to me (nowwwwwwwwwwwwwwww)

We awoke around 8:30 with hopes of being on the bus by 9:30am. I'm laughing at that plan now but I was foolishly optimistic about getting to Epcot early. We had our second date night planned for Narcoosee's at 6:55pm so I wanted to cover as much of Future World as possible so we could spend our second day in Epcot in WS.

Well, let me preface this by saying I love my MIL but she takes FOREVER to get ready in the morning. Partially because of getting herself beautified and partially because of a medical condition that I will spare y'all the details of. Suffice it to say, she said she needed to get up three hours before we needed to be on the bus. She had asked the night before what time we were supposed to head to the park so all was a-go.

Until I opened the connection door when I woke up at 8:30am to see her still in bed. I realized then that we will not be making a bus in an hour. Oh no, more like... in three hours.

I took my time getting dressed, packing the diaper bag, looking at the pictures we had taken the day before on the TV ( I had actually remembered to bring the video cable) Dash had woken up fever free and ready to ride RIDES!! So that was a relief. I gave him his allergy meds just in case, but the loooooooong sleep seemed to have really helped him.

My knee was really swollen and my foot hurt worse than it had the day before. I had to walk funny to not walk on the left side of my left foot which messed up my gait. So I walked funny limping and that caused other parts to hurt that had to make up the difference. Grrrrrrrrr! My MIL insisted on looking at my knee that morning. She had already checked out the foot the day we arrived but I hadn't realized at the time that my knee was screwed up too. I tried to tell her it was no big deal, but she INSISTED! She is a nurse, afterall.

So I had to confess to my very well put together MIL that I hadn't shaved my legs in like FIVE DAYS! Sorry if that's too much information for any of you reading, but it goes to the Mortification part of my TR! I literally had 'shave your legs' on my To Do List before we left the house on Wednesday. Didn't happen. I wasn't going to attempt it with a bum foot to prop up my leg in the shower the day before, so I needed to take a sit down bath to accomplish the shaving of the legs and it just hadn't happened yet!
Needless to say I was majorly embarassed to hike my pj leg up to expose my own personal Animal Kingdom Rain Forest that were my legs.





I think I can hear crickets chirping....


Anyway......... on with the TR!

Since we were later than normal getting off, we decided to forego breakfast for an early lunch at Sunshine Seasons since I knew we'd have to high tail it to Soarin' for FPs anyway.

At 11:30am we were in line for the Epcot bus and there not much long after. We made our way through bag check, took a few pictures in front of Spaceship Earth while waiting on FGM to get Dash's stroller and off we headed to The Land.

Dash had the whole Spaceship Earth in his hands.

Artsy Fartsy Attempt #1 -Love this fountain.

Artsy Fartsy Attempt #2

Stand-by wait is posted at 70 mins with FP returns between 3-4pm. I can handle that.

Once we make our way up, around and down to the first floor of The Land Pavillion, I park everyone at a table and head over to grab FPs, only to read the sign above the FP area to say return between 7-8pm.

At this point I have to admit I got a little um . I tried to reason with myself, and literally sat there talking to myself, reminding myself to go with the flow and to not let deviation from the plan matter. But... but... but... I had already given up Spectro and Wishes the night before, had only ridden FIVE rides in MK the day before. But I dealt with it. I asked my mom and MIL to go ahead and go up to the counter to get their food while Mr. I and I talked about what we wanted to do.

Soarin' is one of my faves, is my MIL's favorite hands down, and one I was most looking forward to Mr. I trying. Mr. I and I discussed cancelling Narcoosee's or maybe pushing it back to a later time, but I had carefully planned our dining time to catch Wishes during dessert. I had already missed Wishes one of the three times I had planned on seeing it this trip and didn't want to miss it again. It is my absolute FAVORITE thing! So we scratched our Future World plans for the day, and decided after lunch we'd head to the WS.

Our lunch consisted of two orders of half chickens, one pork chop, mashed potatoes, rice pilaf, carrots, chinese food for Dash and a turkey and Muenster sandwich. We kinda all passed around and shared each other's food, which is my favorite way to eat. Taste a little bit of everything. The hand's down winner for me was the Turkey and Muenster sandwich but I'm a huge fan of Muenster and I love anything chipotle, so the mayo was a big plus.

We had one strawberry shortcake and one Key lime pie to split between all of us. (remember this for later... )


Continued in Next Post

 

[gellybean]

Continued From Previous Post


We headed out of The Land and made our way to Canada. I decided to sooth my crushed OCD self with picture taking, so I happily snapped away and took a chance to take advantage of having a large enough party to get pictures of us as a family.

Artsy Fartsy Attempt # 3

Artsy Fartsy Attempt # 97

Artsy Fartsy Attempt #228

Not the best family portrait in the world, but it cracks me up! It definitely looks like us!

Pose for the camera, Mary Poppins!

Sticking our necks out for Canada!



UK was next and the British Invasion was playing. This was right up MIL's ally. Even though she's only 6 years younger than my mom, it's six years that makes the difference in Elvis and the Beatles. Mr. I took advantage of this pause to get Jack-Jack to sleep in his stroller.

Rock on Paul and Ringo.

Yet another sleeping baby picture. There will be more to come!

We made our way across the bridge and into France.

Artsy Fartsy #3981 I really like this one for some reason.

The line out of the pastry place was looooooooooong but Mr. I decided he wanted something from there. Which surprised me after the lunch we had just had. Maybe it's the Disney Magic that expands your stomach like Mary Poppin's carpet bag because we managed to find room!

We parked FGM and Jack-Jack in the indoor seating area, which was empty... surprising with that long line and made our way through the line. We tried a bit of everything it seemed-two eclairs, a napoleon, a lemon tart, a chocolate mousse, a creme brulee and a cream puff. YUM! I've been eating there since before it was made so popular by the guidebooks and it did not disappoint!!

After our lovely sugar rush, we waited for the Impressiones de France (I'm sure I butchered that spelling) which is one of my favorites. I had prepared Jack-Jack a bottle but he was having none of it. He had woken up from his nap, prematurely to the sound of a man clanging the trash can right beside where his stroller had been parked. I don't know if he was cranky or antsy but he wanted down! I wasn't about to let him fuss and ruin everyone else's movie experience so I got up and walked him up to the level area in front of the exit doors. He wanted to crawl and cruise and head down the incline toward the front of the theater. Which I let him do, until he started to squeal! At that point, we quietly slipped out the exit door and explored the shop there until the show ended. I tried not to get over missing something that I love. (Anyone know where I can find the soundtrack to that film?! I realize they are all famous French compositions....that I could probably do research on my own and find out but why do that when I can just ask the helpful people of the DIS )

At this point it was close to 4pm and I decided we should start heading back the way we had came. We didn't have time to go around the long way. We strolled through the WS fairly quickly and headed back through Future World. Spaceship Earth was posting 15 mins but I knew as soon as you got through the door you were on it, so it didn't look that long. It ended up being about 7 mins-not too bad. I liked the changes, but Walter Cronkite will always be the rightful narrator in my mind.

By the time we got through it was 5pm! Didn't take time to check out our future selves, which bummed me again but I pushed through it! Gotta be flexible!!

(For those of you counting, that's ONE ride we caught the entire day. Not exactly the way I'm used to doing WDW but going with the flow is my new middle name! )

About this time we got a text from Honey and Frozone that they had arrived at their hotel but were pooped and were going to chill in their room and just meet us for breakfast the next day.

We got to the bus stop and naturally waited for what seemed like forever.

The g-ma's with the boys.

By the time we got back to the hotel, it was 6pm. We had 55 mins to make our Narcoosee's reservation.


Would we make it!? Would we like it?? Would Honey and Frozone find their way to our hotel from their's? How much difference would two MORE people make to this party of ours?


Stay tuned!!!

Disney wishes !!

 

[bethk78]

Great pics, the sky was soooo blue, it looked like you had great weather. Did it rain at all while you were there?

Before going on vacation, I put shaving on my to do list too!! At home, not so much.

 

[mickeysmyboy]

Hi! I'm jumping over from Sare's report! Great report!! Sounds like you had a great dinner at Jiko & I hope you made it to Narcoossees!!! I hope your injuries didn't flair up too bad, falling like that is sooo something I would do!! And I hope Dash didn't end up sicker! We've done sick kids at WDW, it's no fun!

Can't wait to read more!

BTW, congrats on the September AKL trip!

 

[Sorsha]

I tried not to get over missing something that I love. (Anyone know where I can find the soundtrack to that film?! I realize they are all famous French compositions....that I could probably do research on my own and find out but why do that when I can just ask the helpful people of the DIS

A page from Wikipedia can help you out a little!

It lists each scene, and tells you what music is played for each scene. About half of it seems to be classical French composers, and about half is original music. I would imagine you could find most of the classical pieces on iTunes or available for download at amazon, but not sure what you could do about the original pieces.

Good luck!

 

[gellybean]

Great pics, the sky was soooo blue, it looked like you had great weather. Did it rain at all while you were there?

Before going on vacation, I put shaving on my to do list too!! At home, not so much.

Thanks The weather was fantastic! It didn't rain the entire trip, which was totally not the way I'm used to doing Disney trips!

Hi! I'm jumping over from Sare's report! Great report!! Sounds like you had a great dinner at Jiko & I hope you made it to Narcoossees!!! I hope your injuries didn't flair up too bad, falling like that is sooo something I would do!! And I hope Dash didn't end up sicker! We've done sick kids at WDW, it's no fun!

Can't wait to read more!

BTW, congrats on the September AKL trip!

Thanks!!! and We did have a Fantastic time at Jiko. Stay tuned tonight (hopefully) for the Narcoosee's update. The injuries didn't get any worse, I managed to limp my way around the world. Sick kids are no fun for sure, but especially on vacation. If you read my PTR, you'll see that Jack-Jack had Scarlet Fever over Christmas and it was touch and go whether we were going to get to go on vacation at all. I was so concerned about Jack-Jack getting sick, I didn't even think about Dash getting sick!! Good thing I packed his medications just in case. I really think it was mostly allergies and him being run down and so tired! He doesn't run fever again the rest of the trip.

A page from Wikipedia can help you out a little!

It lists each scene, and tells you what music is played for each scene. About half of it seems to be classical French composers, and about half is original music. I would imagine you could find most of the classical pieces on iTunes or available for download at amazon, but not sure what you could do about the original pieces.

Good luck!

and thanks for the info on the music! I'm definitely planning on getting a bunch of Disney music found. I also want to track down the Four Parks One World CD.


Update coming tonight, hopefully! Thanks for reading all!

 

[gellybean]

When I last left you, we had just returned to Pop and it was 6pm. Our carefully planned Narcoosee's reservation was at 6:55pm. I knew we could make it. We had a mini-van, and we decided dressy jeans were ok after what we had witnessed at Jiko the night before so we only needed to freshen up and head out.

..... BUT.....


the boys were hungry and the moms were tired and I felt really bad about just dumping hungry boys on tired moms so hastily. So I called reservations and moved our dinner to 9pm. If you'll remember correctly the whole reason that we didn't get the FPs for Soarin' was because we wanted to keep the ressie at Narcoosee's. There's some definitely irony there. I was going to miss my second scheduled Wishes viewing anyway. But it was what was best for the boys. We got them bathed, and fed and let the moms take naps, and then we headed to take the bus at 7:50pm. We decided not to drive because Mr. Incredible had never ridden the monorail and I wanted him to get to ride it with me.

We got to the bus stop and debated between Epcot and MK. The lines were short enough we kinda hung out between the two to see which got there first and MK did. The bus driver informed those getting on ahead of us that she wasn't going back to the MK because the park was closed, but she'd take them to the TTC. This was good enough for us, so we hopped on. We did get to see Wishes a bit as we drove toward MK. At TTC, we got in line for the resort-to-resort monorail and waited about 10 mins. When the monorail arrived, we noticed that one of the doors was open, and there were men working on it. As they loaded us, they directed everyone to the compartments back behind the opened doored one because apparently the door wouldn't close! I would have hated to have been on the monorail when the door first stopped working. By listening to the conversations in the cabin (are they called cabins??) we were in, we learned that the monorail had been down for a while and judging by the lines of people waiting to board at the Poly and GF it looked like it had been a long while.

We made our way into GF and the first thing I made sure to do was inhale! I remembered that I had loved the smell of the place, and I still did. We found a map and figured out how to get out to Narcoosee's. I didn't stop in Basin because I knew I'd be going to DTD later in the week and didn't want to lug a bag with me into the restaurant. We found the elevator and crossed the lobby out to the side doors toward the pool and the walkway to Narcoosee's. The piano player was playing Edelweiss which is one of my favorite songs. Just one of those happy little coincidences since it really isn't a very popular song. As we walked down the path, it was chilly and I was still limping and walking pretty slowly. I felt bad for Mr. Incredible. He was having to slow his stride down to not leave me in the dust.

About half way there, a luggage cabby guy stopped and asked us where we were headed and we told him and he said hop on! Such a nice man. He asked us if'd we'd been there before and we said no and he said we'd love it, that he went there about five times a year himself. I asked him what was good, and he said that they're known for their seafood but he always orders the steak. We chit-chatted and he dropped us off at the front doors of Narcoosee's in no time. I handed him a few dollars as a tip and he refused, I insisted ....he refused again and it seems we both gave in at the same time, him accepting and me not insisting. It was a bit awkward there for a moment , but I finally stuffed the dollars in his hand, patted him on the shoulder and said a good deed needs to be rewarded! I felt quite dorky after that whole exchange but oh well!

We walked into Narcoosee's after standing there pushing and pulling the doors and not being able to get them to open for what seemed like forever. We finally make our way into the restaurant and check in about 30 mins early. The host gave us a pager and we made our way up to the little bar. Shortly after we walk around the circle, a group of four gets paged and we grab their chairs and start reading the cocktail list. Just as we were placing our order, our buzzer goes off, so we apologize to the bartender and decide to just wait and order the drinks from our server.

I don't remember our server's name, I want to say Christine but I could be randomly guessing this time. She was ok. I don't think she had a chance after Shellie's performance the night before. We got sour dough bread delivered and she explained about the sea salt. We ordered our drinks- Mr. I the Magical Star complete with glow cube and I the Pomarita. They were both good and strong, serving their purpose I guess. You should have seen Mr. I's face when his drink showed up, looking like the strobe lights over DHS at night. I don't think he quite realized what 'glow cube' meant. He quickly dug it out and turned it off!

We ordered Calamari for an app, Mr. I the crab crusted flounder and I the Chef's Recommedation for the night, which was basically Jerk-spiced grilled shrimp with cheese grits and conch. I had never had conch before, but was willing to try it. The shrimp and grits sounded great and after the filet I had at Jiko the night before I really wasn't feeling the Surf N Turf which was what I had been planning on ordering for months!

The calamari was great, I mean using our bread to clean our plate great. We loved the olives, peppers and tomato broth they topped the calamari with! (Not the description that is on Allears!) Mr. I's flounder was good but nothing exceptional. He said it tasted like any other fish dish he's had in restaurants before.....

I enjoyed my dish, though I ended up giving the conch to Mr. I. It tasted chewy and a bit pasty, which was odd. But I tried it. The shrimp were good but tasted a lot like a dish Mr. I had made at our cafe years ago. It was a complement to Mr. I for sure, but I don't know that it was as big of a complement to Narcoosee's.

We shared one order of the Almond-crusted cheesecake and it was hands down the best part of our entire meal, followed closely by the Calamari. Mr. I enjoyed an espresso and we did catch the Electric Water Parade out our window. I was a bit sad that we hadn't managed to watch Wishes from Narcoosee's, but didn't let it get to me too much. Would Wishes have changed our entire experience? Was it doomed from the beginning because my fireworks bubble had been burst again??

We paid our bill -which ended up being within dollars of the same cost of Jiko. It just didn't measure up to Jiko and I don't know if that is necessarily Narcoosee's fault... It probably didn't have a chance after the near perfect meal we'd had at Jiko the night before. Jiko is just more us, with the warm colors, and soft cushy chairs. Narcoosee's, while beautiful, did feel a bit more formal and ... I hate to say cold... but it was all whites and blues and no lights! Oh my gosh, it was so dark in there. One little votive candle on the table was all the light we had. We might try Narcoosee's again and stick to the Surf N Turf and Lobster that I read so much about here on the Dis and stick to our fireworks viewing plan!!

We limped our way back to the lobby, crossed our way out to the portico and got a taxi. I was tired and my foot/knee hurt. It was late and I didn't feel like heading all the way to DTD to catch a bus back to POP. So we paid the $20 to take a cab back to Pop. It was really cute. The cab driver waited a bit and then turned on Love Songs by Delilah which I think ever easy listening station plays late on Friday nights. Mr. I and I looked at each other and smirked but embraced the moment at least enough to hold hands on the way back to our hotel.

We made it back in about 15 mins, looked through the gift shop, called the moms to see if they needed anything from grab n go, and headed back to the rooms. The boys were both up and glad to see us. We regaled the moms with our adventures from the night, said our good nights and turned in by 11:30pm. We were..... CONCH'd out in no time!!!!

We had a breakfast date at 10:30am with Honey and Frozone, Mr. I's sister and BIL. They were to meet us at Pop for breakfast and then catch the bus with us to DHS!


Do we make it to the park in time to get FPs to TSM? Will Mr. I chicken out on RNRRC? Will *I* finally at the age of 29 ride TOT, after my 6 yr old told me "It wasn't THAT Scary, Mom!" ?


Stay tuned!!!


Disney wishes!


PS Sorry for the lack of pictures you guys! I'll get my nerve up to snap pictures in a restaurant next trip !!

 

[brookelizabeth]

GREAT updates! Your artsy fartsy shots are really good-very pretty! Sorry that your Wishes plans got cancelled AGAIN. I really hope you get to see them at some point! Having plans go straight out the window is not an easy thing to deal with - I know on my November trip I would day dream of our days, and while it very, very, very loosely followed them, pretty much everyday was all upside down and backwards! BUT, it also makes for an excellent reason to go back!

Sounds like a nice date night, despite the average food. At least the company was good, right?

I'm glad to hear your knee is better now, but that is a bummer about the foot still hurting sometimes. Did you have to go to the doctor for it?

I'd love a link over to the AKL link. I thought your Jambo Wildbunch Gang was DVC reference. @ me!

Here is the link: AKL Lite II Everyone on there is fantastic, and feel free to ask any AKL questions, or just join the chit chat!! I haven't been on there much, trying to keep up on my TRs (and failing miserably), but I wander over there a couple times a week.

 

[bucknuts]

Love the trip report so far.

 

[gellybean]

GREAT updates! Your artsy fartsy shots are really good-very pretty! Sorry that your Wishes plans got cancelled AGAIN. I really hope you get to see them at some point! Having plans go straight out the window is not an easy thing to deal with - I know on my November trip I would day dream of our days, and while it very, very, very loosely followed them, pretty much everyday was all upside down and backwards! BUT, it also makes for an excellent reason to go back!

Sounds like a nice date night, despite the average food. At least the company was good, right?

I'm glad to hear your knee is better now, but that is a bummer about the foot still hurting sometimes. Did you have to go to the doctor for it?



Here is the link: AKL Lite II Everyone on there is fantastic, and feel free to ask any AKL questions, or just join the chit chat!! I haven't been on there much, trying to keep up on my TRs (and failing miserably), but I wander over there a couple times a week.

Thanks for the pic complement!! I'm just now starting to play around with photography and it means a lot coming from you cus your pics are always awesome!!

Thanks for the AKL link! I'll definitely head over there soon!

I didn't go to the doctor though often wonder if I should have! By the time I walked on it for a week, I didn't think there was much they could've done.

The company was great! I don't think Narcoosee's had a chance with us from the get go. After Jiko, the bar was raised impossibly high.

I kept telling myself after every botched plan that it was just another reason to go back with Mr. I! By the end of the trip he was even saying the things that were left undone would, if nothing else, leave him wanting more!! The one plan that got undone that got me the most was missing Wishes! You'll have to wait and see if we get to see it or not!!

Love the trip report so far.

Thanks !!! and

 

[faerieprincess]

i'm home and i've caught up on your TR - yours first of course :

i missed you so much when my phone wasn't working!!!

i love reading about the stuff you did while you were there, your two date nights sound wonderful and i'm so glad you got to have them, even if it meant missing Wishes. You will get to see Wishes again when you go in September