How I Survived 11 Days at WDW with a Disney-Resistant Husband **2/20 THE END **

[SimmerBaggins]

Hi -- it took me about 2 days to get through your thread, but I've enjoyed the ups and downs. Thanks for sharing!! We stayed only one evening at BC, and I wish we could have stayed more...I'm afraid my description of BC will be somewhat lacking!!

I am so blessed in that my DH goes along with pretty much whatever I want to do, and is happy about it! I think after 2 years in a row of WDW vacations (1 a year), he's ready for a more relaxing cruise...I can't blame him.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Ahh.. the mecca/my homeland... Beach Club. What a great view you had from your villa. Hope that the kids enjoyed their sand pails for the rest of the visit. Chris does not seem enthused with his veggie wrap.

I can't wait to see your photopass pics. I bet they are awesome.

Your photo of the cobb salad does not look like I remember it. Not that I want you to have an off night but I hope they didn't change the recipe. I'm a bit of a Sally ("When Harry Met Sally") in terms of ordering and get a couple of things on the side so I wonder if that ensures things are fresher/paid more attention to? I'm so sorry it didn't live up to the hype.

All this time as a DIS'er and still have never seen Fantasmic. Maybe this Fall.

Can't wait to hear what happens next!

 

[Andreak0428]

I love this!!!!!!! the party you gave your daughter was fantastic! so much detail!!!

I love your trip reports they are so entertaining. I sincerly hope this is not your last trip to Disney World!

 

[Native NYer]

I love the HBD, but haven't tried the Cobb Salad. And after your review and photo, I'm going to pass. I wonder if something went wrong in the preparation.

I'd love to stay at the BC in future. It looks so beautiful!

 

[Dugette]

Hi, I've been lurking since your PTR, but just wanted to pop in to say hi. I'm enjoying the TR, good, bad, and ugly. I'm sorry your DH isn't a Disney lover. I was very lucky that mine decided he liked it. Love the Beach Club pictures/description (we're staying there in November). I can't imagine your walk through Epcot with two kids hanging off of you!

Anyway, just had to comment on the Cobb Salad. We had this on our most recent trip and I'm wondering if they tossed your salad for you? They did this at the table for ours and it was quite tasty. I'm not sure it would be so great all separated out like the one in your pic. Let me see if I can find a pic of ours...

Looking forward to hearing more about your trip!

 

[cdotla]

Looks like you had a fun evening! It is so nice to visit DHS and Epcot when you stay at BC. So easy! Can't wait to hear about Tusker House as that is a place I have been wanting to try out. Does that mean you were at AK on Saturday? If so, we were there that morning too!

Yes...we certainly were at AK on Saturday! Too funny that you were there too!

I keep having these "almost" Dismeets that I only find out about after I get back home!

I too can relate I USE to be married to a WDW resister.. Its just one of the many reasons he is a EX! lol I am now married to a WDW lover..Thank GOD! I am enjoying your report very much cant wait to read the rest!

Thanks for posting, and Welcome!

In my next life, I am going to be sure to marry a Disney fan. I didn't realize at 18 yrs old when we paired up how important this would become for me!

I wish they hadn't cut down the number of Fantasmic shows. We absolutely love that show, but standing in line for an hour to see it seems like such a long time! Even then you may not get a good seat. In 2011 when we go, it will be for at least 10 days so, hopefully, we won't feel as bad about waiting! And we will see it again!

It can be very difficult to fit in Fantasmic on those shorter trips now...fortunately with 10 days you should have no problem. It is worth the wait!

Hi -- it took me about 2 days to get through your thread, but I've enjoyed the ups and downs. Thanks for sharing!! We stayed only one evening at BC, and I wish we could have stayed more...I'm afraid my description of BC will be somewhat lacking!!

I am so blessed in that my DH goes along with pretty much whatever I want to do, and is happy about it! I think after 2 years in a row of WDW vacations (1 a year), he's ready for a more relaxing cruise...I can't blame him.

Thanks for posting, and Welcome!

Don't feel bad about the short stay at the BC...we stayed 8 days and I still didn't get my fill! It is the type of place that always leaves you wanting more! I can't wait to return.

A cruise sounds like a great option!

 

[cdotla]

Ahh.. the mecca/my homeland... Beach Club. What a great view you had from your villa. Hope that the kids enjoyed their sand pails for the rest of the visit. Chris does not seem enthused with his veggie wrap.

I can't wait to see your photopass pics. I bet they are awesome.

Your photo of the cobb salad does not look like I remember it. Not that I want you to have an off night but I hope they didn't change the recipe. I'm a bit of a Sally ("When Harry Met Sally") in terms of ordering and get a couple of things on the side so I wonder if that ensures things are fresher/paid more attention to? I'm so sorry it didn't live up to the hype.

All this time as a DIS'er and still have never seen Fantasmic. Maybe this Fall.

Can't wait to hear what happens next!

Yay for the Beach Club!

Not sure what was more irritating to Chris - the soggy, tasteless veggie wrap, or me in his face taking a picture of him eating it!

As for the Cobb Salad, I think what I mostly didn't like about it (if I am remembering correctly) was the dressing. I am not one to put a lot of dressing on my salad in the first place, and this one was dosed in it.

Off night or not, I definitely won't be getting it again. Too many other things I like!

Can't believe you haven't seen Fantastic!!! I think I knew that at one point but I forgot. Don't you love always having reasons to justify a trip back to the Parks!

I love this!!!!!!! the party you gave your daughter was fantastic! so much detail!!!

I love your trip reports they are so entertaining. I sincerly hope this is not your last trip to Disney World!

Thanks so much!

Speaking of parties, I am seriously behind now in planning my son's Pirate Party, which we are hosting next weekend! I will be sure to share details about it in a week!

And I can assure you...this will definitely not be my last trip to WDW! Nor the kids. But it just might have been DH's last trip!!!

I love the HBD, but haven't tried the Cobb Salad. And after your review and photo, I'm going to pass. I wonder if something went wrong in the preparation.

I'd love to stay at the BC in future. It looks so beautiful!

As for the Cobb Salad, I think as mentioned above what turned me off was the dressing. I like all of the individual ingredients, so not sure what else it could be.

Hi, I've been lurking since your PTR, but just wanted to pop in to say hi. I'm enjoying the TR, good, bad, and ugly. I'm sorry your DH isn't a Disney lover. I was very lucky that mine decided he liked it. Love the Beach Club pictures/description (we're staying there in November). I can't imagine your walk through Epcot with two kids hanging off of you!

Anyway, just had to comment on the Cobb Salad. We had this on our most recent trip and I'm wondering if they tossed your salad for you? They did this at the table for ours and it was quite tasty. I'm not sure it would be so great all separated out like the one in your pic. Let me see if I can find a pic of ours...

Looking forward to hearing more about your trip!

Well HELLO long-time lurker! So happy that you've outed yourself and come out to play!

As for the Cobb salad - no they definitely did not toss mine. The waiter had walked away already by the time I took the photo. I know this because despite taking countless photos of my food in Disney restaurants I still feel a bit awkward and silly about it and would never do it with a server anywhere near the table!

That said, I certainly mixed it up quite well by myself, and it looked very similar to yours.

I think it must just be that the dressing wasn't doing it for me. I like all of the other ingredients.

Oh well...no big deal. There are plenty of other things to choose from on the menu! And because I barely ate my salad, I finally had enough room to try that delectable Grapefruit Cake this visit. So it all worked out!

 

[cdotla]

Happy Father's Day to DeclansDad...and any other Daddy-lurkers who might be out there!!!

 

[cdotla]

Day 3 and off to Animal Kingdom!


After our first night at the Beach Club, we were setting off on Day 3 for DH's favourite park, Animal Kingdom.

I mentioned that we are Rope Drop people, right? Well in addition to that, I am also quite keen on the 8am breakfasts that get you early entrance into the Parks. Today we had an 8am ADR at Tusker House, which meant that we had to be out the door by 7:30am at the latest.

Normally this would not be a problem. However, 5 people in a Studio trying to all get ready in the morning is not something I factored into our wake-up time. (Oh, how I would grow to love the 2 BATHROOMS we would enjoy in our 1 Bedroom unit the rest of the week!!!)

By the time we finally headed out the door, it was about 7:40am. And I still had to huff it over to the Lobby to (1) check in so that we could also start using our 7 days of Deluxe Dining credits, and (2) pick up our stroller.

Drat! Why didn't I get up 15 minutes earlier???

Fortunately, Bell Services was on the ball, and whizzed over with my stroller as I was still completing check-in, which the front desk CM handled as quickly as possible. By 7:50am I was running out the lobby and into our waiting car ready to head to Animal Kingdom.

By the time we parked, took the tram, went through bag check and arrived at the Park gates, it was about 8:10. Not too bad. I figured we would still be safe to eat and get out in time for Rope Drop.

We walked a pretty brisk pace through the Park to Tusker House. Unfortunately we weren't able to enjoy the walk in as much as I would have liked as we were already 10-15 minutes late for our reservation. I kicked myself again for not getting up earlier.

At barely 8am, it was HOT and we knew this was going to be another scourcher, especially in Animal Kingdom!

We finally arrived in Africa and made our way over to Tusker House where we got in the back of a very long check-in line. 5 minutes later we ushered into the back courtyard, only to make it to the end of an even longer line of people waiting for character photos with Donald.

Not even 10 minutes inside the Park and already DH's patience was wearing thin.

After all of these trips to Disney, and constantly trying to figure out how I could make DH love it like I did, it finally hit me: he does not like lines. Or crowds. But especially lines.

OK - now that I know that, I think it is game-over for Disney. There is no way I can plan a trip without lines.

After noticing there were at least 15-20 families ahead of us, I realized that our day was going to go from bad to worse if I forced DH to wait to have our picture taken with Donald. Once again I kicked myself for not getting up earlier as we could have been at the head of the line, not at the tail end. But, given the realities of the situation, I did the unthinkable - I advised one of the CMs that we just wished to be seated and did not want to wait to have our photos taken.

Clearly this is not something most people do. She was certainly surprised. However, in retrospect it was a good call. There were about 5 CMs standing around in the area waiting to seat people once their photos were taken. So we were immediately shown inside to our table. On the way in, we caught a glimpse of the delicious looking buffet. DH's spirits were already picking up.

The food at Tusker House was excellent! We all thoroughly enjoyed our meal. Even the coffee was pretty decent. We also lucked out with a fabulous server. Once again, life was good!

After a little while, musical instruments were handed out to all of the children and Mickey came and led all of the children in a musical parade through the restaurant. What fun! Again, this was a most enjoyable breakfast.

Unfortunately, the thing that didn't work out so well were the character table visits. After 45 minutes of waiting at our table for the characters, finally it appeared that they were coming in our direction.

We were seated in a room at the back end of the restaurant. Our server had informed us that our table would be the characters' first stop on entering the back room. Which only made it worse when we watched Mickey come into the back room, bypass our table and start making his way around to all of the other tables in the room.

First he went down the left side, crossed over to the back wall, and then started coming back up the right wall in our direction. Just as he had almost reached our table, he slipped into an adjoining room containing about 5 more tables. Grrrrrrrrr.

To make matters worse, it was now between 9:15-9:20am and I had been watching a steady stream of people converging on the Kilimanjaro Safaris since park opening. Ugh!

Once again I had to kick myself for not getting up earlier that morning!

Finally, I decided that I would slip out, cross the courtyard and grab us some Fast Passes for the Safari. I knew that Mickey still had 5-6 tables to cover in the adjoining room before he would be over to see us. At the rate he was going, I was pretty certain I would beat him back to the table.

3 minutes later, I was back at the table, Fast Passes in hand, continuing the wait for Mickey.

After what seemed like an eternity, (in reality about 1 hour after we had been seated), finally it appeared that we were about to get our first character table visit at Tusker House. We watched in anticipation as Mickey was just about to approach the table beside us, the only other table besides ours that he hadn't yet visited. Unfortunately, just before he arrived at that table, he started walking away toward the kitchen.

Apparently it seems Mickey started to feel ill and had to be taken offstage. As our server wasn't sure exactly when Mickey would be back, and with no other characters in sight except for Daisy who was at least 15 minutes from reaching our table, we gave up on the character visits at Tusker House in favour of touring the Park.

With Fast Passes to the Safari in hand, we headed in the direction of Expedition Everest.



UP NEXT: The Kids Meet the Yeti!

 

[edk35]

Day 3 and off to Animal Kingdom!


After our first night at the Beach Club, we were setting off on Day 3 for DH's favourite park, Animal Kingdom.

I mentioned that we are Rope Drop people, right? Well in addition to that, I am also quite keen on the 8am breakfasts that get you early entrance into the Parks. Today we had an 8am ADR at Tusker House, which meant that we had to be out the door by 7:30am at the latest.

Normally this would not be a problem. However, 5 people in a Studio trying to all get ready in the morning is not something I factored into our wake-up time. (Oh, how I would grow to love the 2 BATHROOMS we would enjoy in our 1 Bedroom unit the rest of the week!!!)

By the time we finally headed out the door, it was about 7:40am. And I still had to huff it over to the Lobby to (1) check in so that we could also start using our 7 days of Deluxe Dining credits, and (2) pick up our stroller.

Drat! Why didn't I get up 15 minutes earlier???

Fortunately, Bell Services was on the ball, and whizzed over with my stroller as I was still completing check-in, which the front desk CM handled as quickly as possible. By 7:50am I was running out the lobby and into our waiting car ready to head to Animal Kingdom.

By the time we parked, took the tram, went through bag check and arrived at the Park gates, it was about 8:10. Not too bad. I figured we would still be safe to eat and get out in time for Rope Drop.

We walked a pretty brisk pace through the Park to Tusker House. Unfortunately we weren't able to enjoy the walk in as much as I would have liked as we were already 10-15 minutes late for our reservation. I kicked myself again for not getting up earlier.

At barely 8am, it was HOT and we knew this was going to be another scourcher, especially in Animal Kingdom!

We finally arrived in Africa and made our way over to Tusker House where we got in the back of a very long check-in line. 5 minutes later we ushered into the back courtyard, only to make it to the end of an even longer line of people waiting for character photos with Donald.

Not even 10 minutes inside the Park and already DH's patience was wearing thin.

After all of these trips to Disney, and constantly trying to figure out how I could make DH love it like I did, it finally hit me: he does not like lines. Or crowds. But especially lines.

OK - now that I know that, I think it is game-over for Disney. There is no way I can plan a trip without lines.

After noticing there were at least 15-20 families ahead of us, I realized that our day was going to go from bad to worse if I forced DH to wait to have our picture taken with Donald. Once again I kicked myself for not getting up earlier as we could have been at the head of the line, not at the tail end. But, given the realities of the situation, I did the unthinkable - I advised one of the CMs that we just wished to be seated and did not want to wait to have our photos taken.

Clearly this is not something most people do. She was certainly surprised. However, in retrospect it was a good call. There were about 5 CMs standing around in the area waiting to seat people once their photos were taken. So we were immediately shown inside to our table. On the way in, we caught a glimpse of the delicious looking buffet. DH's spirits were already picking up.

The food at Tusker House was excellent! We all thoroughly enjoyed our meal. Even the coffee was pretty decent. We also lucked out with a fabulous server. Once again, life was good!

After a little while, musical instruments were handed out to all of the children and Mickey came and led all of the children in a musical parade through the restaurant. What fun! Again, this was a most enjoyable breakfast.

Unfortunately, the thing that didn't work out so well were the character table visits. After 45 minutes of waiting at our table for the characters, finally it appeared that they were coming in our direction.

We were seated in a room at the back end of the restaurant. Our server had informed us that our table would be the characters' first stop on entering the back room. Which only made it worse when we watched Mickey come into the back room, bypass our table and start making his way around to all of the other tables in the room.

First he went down the left side, crossed over to the back wall, and then started coming back up the right wall in our direction. Just as he had almost reached our table, he slipped into an adjoining room containing about 5 more tables. Grrrrrrrrr.

To make matters worse, it was now between 9:15-9:20am and I had been watching a steady stream of people converging on the Kilimanjaro Safaris since park opening. Ugh!

Once again I had to kick myself for not getting up earlier that morning!

Finally, I decided that I would slip out, cross the courtyard and grab us some Fast Passes for the Safari. I knew that Mickey still had 5-6 tables to cover in the adjoining room before he would be over to see us. At the rate he was going, I was pretty certain I would beat him back to the table.

3 minutes later, I was back at the table, Fast Passes in hand, continuing the wait for Mickey.

After what seemed like an eternity, (in reality about 1 hour after we had been seated), finally it appeared that we were about to get our first character table visit at Tusker House. We watched in anticipation as Mickey was just about to approach the table beside us, the only other table besides ours that he hadn't yet visited. Unfortunately, just before he arrived at that table, he started walking away toward the kitchen.

Apparently it seems Mickey started to feel ill and had to be taken offstage. As our server wasn't sure exactly when Mickey would be back, and with no other characters in sight except for Daisy who was at least 15 minutes from reaching our table, we gave up on the character visits at Tusker House in favour of touring the Park.

With Fast Passes to the Safari in hand, we headed in the direction of Expedition Everest.


UP NEXT: Can the kids handle their first match with the Yeti???

Thanks for the update. MORE MORE LOL

Okay....as I read your posts about dh and his non love for Disney...... I started thinking about my dh. It took several trips (after we made several trips actually) for me to figure this out. My husband doesn't like to feel STRESSED OUT ON VACATION. When we were going a lot several years ago....our trips were always commando..up early, out late, not enough rest. So we would arrive home needing a vacation from our vacation. As our kids got older....our kids were begging to SLEEP IN some mornings. Even our 16 year old ds is burned out on Disney. MY FAULT!!!!!!! We went too much for about 3 years and now that the kids are older they ADORE SLEEP and he does not want to get up so early anymore. So we had to change our park touring style as our kids got older too.

My husband has always been the type (STILL IS) that has to have plenty of time in the morning. He has to have time to drink coffee and chill in front of the t.v. watching the news. If he is rushed in the mornings it sets the tone for the day and that goes for DISNEY TOO. If we are up too early, rushing out the door, running around the parks like wild people....he is NOT FUN TO BE AROUND. Now it is better because we have S L O W E D down so much now. When our kids were younger we did the character meals all the time...well after a few years of those....we were OVER those and I think dh was extremely happy. His idea of eating a nice breakfast is not hopping up and down taking pictures, handing over autograph books and not enjoying his 100 dollar breafkast . So...I finally had to INCLUDE him in my Disney obsessed plans which meant taking a step back and seeing that I was doing the trips MY WAY...and everyone just fell into place according to MY PLAN. Now I try and have plenty of down times at the resort/pool and we do some off the beaten path stuff too. We rented a pontoon boat once, he and the boys rent the sea raycers too. It is even nicer now that our kids are 19, 16 and 11...we can let them go off and do their own thing and we can actually ENJOY the parks just us two. So...... over these 18 years of going to WDW.......we have had to adjust as our kids have gotten older. PLUS it is soooooooooooooooo nice being DVC members now. We get 2 bedrooms and that just makes our vacations so much more relaxing.

Maybe next trip..you can have grandma watch your kids so you can go and enjoy an evening out with your dh. Maybe your dh is just NOT WELL RESTED after these trips.

 

[declansdad]

Hi, I've been lurking since your PTR, but just wanted to pop in to say hi. I'm enjoying the TR, good, bad, and ugly. I'm sorry your DH isn't a Disney lover. I was very lucky that mine decided he liked it. Love the Beach Club pictures/description (we're staying there in November). I can't imagine your walk through Epcot with two kids hanging off of you!

Anyway, just had to comment on the Cobb Salad. We had this on our most recent trip and I'm wondering if they tossed your salad for you? They did this at the table for ours and it was quite tasty. I'm not sure it would be so great all separated out like the one in your pic. Let me see if I can find a pic of ours...

Looking forward to hearing more about your trip!

I haven't had one before and your picture doesn't make it look any more appealing.

 

[declansdad]

Happy Father's Day to DeclansDad...and any other Daddy-lurkers who might be out there!!!

Why thank you and I hope your dh had a wonderful Father's Day too!

 

[cdotla]

Thanks for the update. MORE MORE LOL

Okay....as I read your posts about dh and his non love for Disney...... I started thinking about my dh. It took several trips (after we made several trips actually) for me to figure this out. My husband doesn't like to feel STRESSED OUT ON VACATION. When we were going a lot several years ago....our trips were always commando..up early, out late, not enough rest. So we would arrive home needing a vacation from our vacation. As our kids got older....our kids were begging to SLEEP IN some mornings. Even our 16 year old ds is burned out on Disney. MY FAULT!!!!!!! We went too much for about 3 years and now that the kids are older they ADORE SLEEP and he does not want to get up so early anymore. So we had to change our park touring style as our kids got older too.

My husband has always been the type (STILL IS) that has to have plenty of time in the morning. He has to have time to drink coffee and chill in front of the t.v. watching the news. If he is rushed in the mornings it sets the tone for the day and that goes for DISNEY TOO. If we are up too early, rushing out the door, running around the parks like wild people....he is NOT FUN TO BE AROUND. Now it is better because we have S L O W E D down so much now. When our kids were younger we did the character meals all the time...well after a few years of those....we were OVER those and I think dh was extremely happy. His idea of eating a nice breakfast is not hopping up and down taking pictures, handing over autograph books and not enjoying his 100 dollar breafkast . So...I finally had to INCLUDE him in my Disney obsessed plans which meant taking a step back and seeing that I was doing the trips MY WAY...and everyone just fell into place according to MY PLAN. Now I try and have plenty of down times at the resort/pool and we do some off the beaten path stuff too. We rented a pontoon boat once, he and the boys rent the sea raycers too. It is even nicer now that our kids are 19, 16 and 11...we can let them go off and do their own thing and we can actually ENJOY the parks just us two. So...... over these 18 years of going to WDW.......we have had to adjust as our kids have gotten older. PLUS it is soooooooooooooooo nice being DVC members now. We get 2 bedrooms and that just makes our vacations so much more relaxing.

Maybe next trip..you can have grandma watch your kids so you can go and enjoy an evening out with your dh. Maybe your dh is just NOT WELL RESTED after these trips.

You are definitely right about commando touring - it can get both tiring and stressful. Katie and I have done two commando trips on our own where we are on the go from early in the morning til late at nite.

However, on this trip with DH I knew commando touring wouldn't work. Our family is a bunch of early risers. We don't sleep in. DH is usually up between 5:30-6am on his days off. That is just his natural body clock.

He is best in the mornings. Which works well because that is when there are less crowds and it also tends to be less hot. (Have I mentioned how much he hates heat and crowds?)

Touring the parks first thing in the morning was definitely the way to go with DH!

Our approach tended to be to have an early breakfast, make rope drop, hit the parks til lunchtime, then spend the afternoons at the pool. In the evenings we would have a nice dinner, and about half the time we would take in the fireworks or nightly park entertainment.

I think you will see as we go through the TR that we DEFINITELY did not do commando touring. I think I mentioned this before, but I have seen more of the parks on my 4 day trips than I did on this 11 day trip!

I have thought long and hard trying to come up with some reason why DH didn't finally (after 4 trips) falls in love with Disney. Trust me...I would love to cling to some other reason, but I finally have to admit: he's just not that into it and doesn't "get it" like the rest of us.

Why thank you and I hope your dh had a wonderful Father's Day too!

Thanks! He did!

 

[DrMomof3]

Too bad about the salad at Brown Derby. I had heard great things. I've never seen Fantasmic! and sadly will probably wait until another year.
I can just picture the family trying to get ready for AK!

Amanda

 

[klacey1]

Sorry that the character interaction wasn't so great-- I'm glad the food was good, and hope it helped to make up for the lack of interaction!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Ya know, I'm not sure that I think it is so "unthinkable" that you'd ask to be seated without the formal breakfast portrait. I actually think that was a good call. They always come out badly anyway.

Now your DH not liking lines and crowds... how "we" are going to marry that to Disney vacations I'm not sure but we'll figure it out.

Sorry the character visits to the table did not go smoothly. That was totally out of your hands.

Looking forward to hearing about the Yeti... especially since I'm too chicken to go near him.

 

[Queenofallthings]

If it's lines and crowds your hubby doesn't like, I think your fight for his loving it is over my friend...even in the off seasons...still lines and crowds

I have heard so many wonderful things about TH, but you certainly didn't have a great morning there We had a similar experience at CP when we went for dinner once....they missed out table completely...all the characters for the entire meal....it was very odd. Our server finally noticed and they all came at once which was nice!!

 

[cdotla]

Too bad about the salad at Brown Derby. I had heard great things. I've never seen Fantasmic! and sadly will probably wait until another year.
I can just picture the family trying to get ready for AK!

Amanda

While the Cobb salad wasn't for me, I am still a BD fan. We will be back!

If you can, you really should try to make it over to Fantasmic! It is pretty amazing!

Sorry that the character interaction wasn't so great-- I'm glad the food was good, and hope it helped to make up for the lack of interaction!

I would definitely do TH again! The food, service and atmosphere was wonderful. Unfortunately, we just ended up in probably the worst seat in the house for the character interactions.

Ya know, I'm not sure that I think it is so "unthinkable" that you'd ask to be seated without the formal breakfast portrait. I actually think that was a good call. They always come out badly anyway.

Now your DH not liking lines and crowds... how "we" are going to marry that to Disney vacations I'm not sure but we'll figure it out.

Sorry the character visits to the table did not go smoothly. That was totally out of your hands.

Looking forward to hearing about the Yeti... especially since I'm too chicken to go near him.

Yeah Christine - I think DH might be a lost cause with the anti-crowds, anti-lines sentiment. There is no getting over that.

It is funny - for me, truly everything is an adventure in Disney, as corny as that sounds. From standing in line for bag checks, to lining up in ques - it's all part of the experience. Perspective is everything I guess, and I am always happy to be in WDW.

If it's lines and crowds your hubby doesn't like, I think your fight for his loving it is over my friend...even in the off seasons...still lines and crowds

I have heard so many wonderful things about TH, but you certainly didn't have a great morning there We had a similar experience at CP when we went for dinner once....they missed out table completely...all the characters for the entire meal....it was very odd. Our server finally noticed and they all came at once which was nice!!

Yes - this trip has definitely convinced me...there is no winning the war on this. If someone can't be persuaded by 11 days of Deluxe Living at WDW then they truly are a lost cause.

As for TH, everything about it was great. Except for our table location when it came to the characters. I would definitely go back though!

 

[cdotla]

Hope everyone had a great Father's Day weekend!

We were fairly busy with our regular kids' activities, a birthday party for one of Katie's friends, and getting ready for Declan's upcoming Pirate Party next Saturday.

As an early graduation gift (Declan graduates from Pre School tomorrow, and Katie graduates from Grade 1 next Tuesday), we got them a souped up playset to replace the tired one that had been using which was on it's last legs. They spent much of the weekend playing on it.

Can you see we have done some early decorating for our pirate party next weekend? See those buoys hanging in the trees?

Katie also had her dance recital this afternoon. While the pictures aren't great, they are all that I have. Katie is on the far right.

Tomorrow morning we are heading off for Declan's Pre School graduation. It's official: my babies just aren't babies anymore!

 

[SimmerBaggins]

I'm sorry about your character interaction at TH -- I completely understand about one little decision (getting up just a little later) making a domino affect, and not to the good! I hope your kids weren't too disappointed about Mickey -- that would be really sad to almost feel REJECTED! But I do like the expression on your DH's face at the breakfast table -- it's obvious he's enjoying the breakfast!!