Hubby & Prego do Disney in August! - Final Thoughts (5/25)

[California Jenn]

Sounds like a great day at TL! It sounds sweet how much your husband is watching out for you!

We really enjoy going to the water parks in part to get a break from all the fast-paced days at the parks. It's so relaxing to lounge by the wave pool, ride a few slides and just soak up the sun.

Also looking forward to hearing about O'hana as we've never eaten there. Definitely on the list for our next trip.

 

[amandaluvsgoofy]

I know, I know! It's been wwwwaaaaaayyyyyyy too long since my last post. Shame on me! It seems like the days fly by and the weekends go even faster! School has been super busy with cheerleading and such. Plus our weekends seem to fill up with socializing obligations. I keep telling J we'll take a weekend off soon. Then I remind myself, come January we'll probably be begging to get out of the house!
On with the rest of Day 3, we finished up our yummy pizza lunch and relaxed/napped before we had to get ready for dinner. We took the bus to the TTC then hopped on the boat to the Grand Floridian. I absolutely LOVE this resort! My goal is to stay here some day!

Here's a shot of me in a prego dress!

The beautiful lobby! J thought the resort was incredible!! But who wouldn't?!

We then took the monorail to the Poly. Another favorite of mine growing up!

We checked in at O'hana and waited to be seated. It took FOREVER!! Our reservations were for 8:50, but since we requested a window, we weren't seated until 9:40!!
Although we were a little irritated as time went by, our moods were lifted by a small DIS-Meet! Sarah and her wonderful family from Scotland greeted me at the bar (no I wasn't drinking, but J decided to order a beverage, haha!) She approached me, confirmed it was me, then gave me the very first toy for our little one on the way!

(notice J's drink? I think it was some sort of rum beverage, he refused to order a Lapu Lapu since it was almost $16!!)
I couldn't believe it!! I was so shocked to have received such a gift!! I think I stood there for a few minutes with my mouth opened until I finally got the sense to go over and take a picture with Sarah!!

Thank you again so much!! Mickey is still waiting in the nursery for our little bundle of joy to arrive!!
As we waited, we tried to keep ourselves busy by hanging out in the lobby of the Poly since we couldn't leave the area.
Shots of the sushi bar with people actually eating...

The menu, as if it were toying with us...

Hey! There's a gift shop!! Let's look!!
Smile, honey!

Love this hat!

We were finally seated (after politely asking only twice!) and had a view of the castle. Wishes was starting soon, but the food came immediately.
The bread came first! We were so hungry that, like usual, we started to dig in before I grabbed the camera.
It was wonderful!!

Then the salad. It was good, not the best I've had, but not bad.

Our waitress then brought the three sauces

Followed with the dumplings, noodles, and broccoli

J's absolute favorite thing of the meal were the dumplings!! I think I had maybe two and he polished off the rest! I really enjoyed the noodles. Kind of like a new and improved version of the Ramen noodles from childhood (which I ate ALL the time!).
The chicken wings soon followed. They were ok, just a little dry. J LOVES wings, so he's pretty picky with them.

The meats came last (pork, turkey, beef) <no shot of the shrimp? not sure what happened?? sorry!!>

They had one of those coconut races for the kiddos, it was hilarious!

Wishes soon started and I couldn't even pretend to get a shot. So I just enjoyed it and waited for dessert!
My favorite part of the meal, by far was the bread pudding!!

I've discovered by this point in my pregnancy that my "cravings" are ALL sweets!! I loved sweets before, but I could actually display a little self-control. Not so much lately, hehe!
By the end of the meal, we were both exhausted...

And FULL!!

Overall, the food at O'hana was pretty good. I think we summed it up later as "forgettable". It's sad to say, I know cause I was really looking forward to it. The meat was dry, even with the sauces. But that's a chance you take with an open grill. I loved the environment and being able to see Wishes without the crowds. Would I go back to O'hana? Probably not, but I do encourage people to try it!
We left O'hana and got back to our resort around midnight then went straight to bed. We had a busy day in store along with an early morning at Animal Kingdom!!! Will we make it opening gate?!?!

 

[Disneymoon09]

glad to hear that about Ohana's. i tried a few times for ann ADR with no luck. good to hear it wasn't all its cracked up to be. loving the TR!

 

[stacikristine]

What a cute picture of you and your prego dress! Maternity clothes are just adorable! Sorry you had to wait so long to be seated...that stinks. And after reading your review, I'm glad we "had" to go to Kona instead--it was incredible!! Can't wait to read about AK!!!

 

[California Jenn]

Yeah for an update! So much fun

You should definitely do as many fun things as you can now before the baby arrives, because after your little one arrives, it will be much, much more difficult to get out of the house!

Glad to hear about Ohana -- we've never been and I have been wanting to try it. Now, we'll still try, but I won't be to upset if we don't get there.

That's kind of frustrating about having to wait an hour for your table. I know you had asked for a window table, but even still, it shouldn't take that long at that time of night!!!

What a sweet gift from your dismeet. That was such a thoughtful gesture and a perfect introduction to Disney for your little princess!

 

[BippityBoo]

Great update!! We loved O'hana...however, I have heard that it just depends on the wait staff, location in the room, etc.

What an adorable stuffed animal!! My daughter LOVES those. She got Dumbo on our last trip...from the Poly Gift Shop! Love that place.

Can't wait to read more! Hope you are feeling great

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

Yay for the update! I've always wanted to try O'Hana for dinner. I enjoyed your review but wondered too if the meat would be dry based on how they cook it.

Waiting for more.

 

[jenny105]

We went to Ohana's on our trip too but I absolutely looooooved it. We didn't even use any of the sauces, I forgot they were there! LOL. I think we had the best table in the house, in the corner by the window facing the castle. We got to see Wishes too!

 

[Lynn5700]

Hey girl!!! How the heck did I miss this TR????? I'm sorry

Congrats on expecting a baby girl! Aww!

She will be here before you know it!

 

[OhMari]

Bump to the front.

Great room at the Boardwalk.
We had a view of the Valet Parking Lot, but it was nice and quiet.
At nite we could watch the fireworks from Illuminations and Fantasmic.
We were there Easter Vacation,
and one nite we went to the room early, because we got rained on.
But Fantasmic started at 7:00
Illuminations at 9:00
Fantasmic again at 10:00
and Illuminations at 11:00
My dh wasn't feeling good that evening, but the next morning he told me,
"wow", there sure were loud thunderstorms last nite.

I can't believe you walked to Disney Studios, that is a long walk.

Congradulations on the baby girl.

 

[pinkpixie0920]

Hi!

I love your TR so far! You have made me want to eat at Garden Grill the next time. I can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip. We ate at O'hana too. Our problem was my DH was hungry around 3 and our reservations weren't until 8 so we ate lunch and were to full for Ohana. I won't make that mistake again. I agree though with the dryness of the meat and we weren't impressed either with the wings.

 

[amandaluvsgoofy]

glad to hear that about Ohana's. i tried a few times for ann ADR with no luck. good to hear it wasn't all its cracked up to be. loving the TR!

Yeah, O'hana has received mixed reviews. You kinda take a chance at any place, though. The atmosphere was nice!!

What a cute picture of you and your prego dress! Maternity clothes are just adorable! Sorry you had to wait so long to be seated...that stinks. And after reading your review, I'm glad we "had" to go to Kona instead--it was incredible!! Can't wait to read about AK!!!

Thanks!! I'm still trying to be fashionable as my belly GROWS!!
I think Kona will be on our list next time! It looked sooooo good!

Yeah for an update! So much fun

You should definitely do as many fun things as you can now before the baby arrives, because after your little one arrives, it will be much, much more difficult to get out of the house!

Glad to hear about Ohana -- we've never been and I have been wanting to try it. Now, we'll still try, but I won't be to upset if we don't get there.

That's kind of frustrating about having to wait an hour for your table. I know you had asked for a window table, but even still, it shouldn't take that long at that time of night!!!

What a sweet gift from your dismeet. That was such a thoughtful gesture and a perfect introduction to Disney for your little princess!

Keep trying for O'hana! I'm sure you'll get it! And be sure to get there way early if you want a window for Wishes!!
We love our little Mickey doll!!! He's waiting patiently in her nursery!

Great update!! We loved O'hana...however, I have heard that it just depends on the wait staff, location in the room, etc.

What an adorable stuffed animal!! My daughter LOVES those. She got Dumbo on our last trip...from the Poly Gift Shop! Love that place.

Can't wait to read more! Hope you are feeling great

Thanks! I guess it's the same with most restaurants, you could have great food but not-so-great service or vice versa. We still had a good time!

Yay for the update! I've always wanted to try O'Hana for dinner. I enjoyed your review but wondered too if the meat would be dry based on how they cook it.

Waiting for more.

I promise it's coming!!

We went to Ohana's on our trip too but I absolutely looooooved it. We didn't even use any of the sauces, I forgot they were there! LOL. I think we had the best table in the house, in the corner by the window facing the castle. We got to see Wishes too!

I think we were kind of behind that seat! It was great right until Wishes started when the little girl had to stand up (thus kind of blocking our view, ha!). But we moved around a bit and got a decent shot!

Hey girl!!! How the heck did I miss this TR????? I'm sorry

Congrats on expecting a baby girl! Aww!

She will be here before you know it!

No worries!! I know you're a busy lady with work, school, etc! And thanks! We're really excited! Hard to believe I'm in the 7th month already!

Bump to the front.

Great room at the Boardwalk.
We had a view of the Valet Parking Lot, but it was nice and quiet.
At nite we could watch the fireworks from Illuminations and Fantasmic.
We were there Easter Vacation,
and one nite we went to the room early, because we got rained on.
But Fantasmic started at 7:00
Illuminations at 9:00
Fantasmic again at 10:00
and Illuminations at 11:00
My dh wasn't feeling good that evening, but the next morning he told me,
"wow", there sure were loud thunderstorms last nite.

I can't believe you walked to Disney Studios, that is a long walk.

Congradulations on the baby girl.

I figured whatever room we had would be great at the Boardwalk! It's such a beautiful resort!
The walk to DHS wasn't too bad in the morning, but the walk back in the afternoon was tough... and HOT! May have to rethink that one next time...
And thank you!!

Hi!

I love your TR so far! You have made me want to eat at Garden Grill the next time. I can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip. We ate at O'hana too. Our problem was my DH was hungry around 3 and our reservations weren't until 8 so we ate lunch and were to full for Ohana. I won't make that mistake again. I agree though with the dryness of the meat and we weren't impressed either with the wings.

Oh my gosh it was soooo good! Garden Grill is one of our repeats for sure!
I had heard about making sure you're hungry for O'hana and I was! But I almost think we had surpased that point of starving and just got to "Can we just eat already?". Oh well, there's plenty of other places to dine at Disney!

 

[amandaluvsgoofy]

Hey everyone!! I know I've been MIA for a while and I'm so sorry! Being pregnant is tiring Plus I was sick last week with a bad cold, not the flu thank goodness!
I'm at work and can't download pics, but I promise to get the AK Day started when I get home this evening! Thanks y'all for sticking with me!

 

[misskate]

I'm late to the party, but I'm joining in! Everything looks great so far. That baby Mickey is precious!

You are so cute pregnant! Absolutely adorable. Hope you are feeling great and staying away from sick kids at your school...if it's anything like where I live, the swine flu is everywhere. Yuck!
Can't wait to read more!

 

[amandaluvsgoofy]

Hey y'all!! I know I've been a bad girl since I haven't posted in a while. This pregnancy thing sure is tiring! But I promise to get back on board and finish my trip report! I'll also post some pics of how HUGE my belly has gotten!!
Anyway, last we left, it was time for our AK day! We had to get up pretty early since it was EMH and I really wanted to get there for opening. We left the hotel around 7:15 and immediately got on the bus! By the time we got to the officialy opening ceremony, this is what we saw

There were people EVERYWHERE!! I couldn't belive it! And of course I could barely see the opening ceremony Oh well, as soon as the gates opened we followed the herd to the Safari (I know some folks have said that pregos should not go on it, but I was determined to see all the animals!). I loved the Safari ride! Lots of wonderful animals, which means lots of wonderful pics (I'll spare you the majority and just post some of my favs!).
Lucky us! We got front row!!

Ummm....traffic jam?

I love hippos!! Munch, munch, munch!

Shot of the savanna!

"You lookin' at me?"

Nice kitty!

And to think, these guys could crash our vehicle if they really wanted to!

After the safari, we walked through the Pangani Forest Trail. Again, lots of pics but I'll spare you!
Hippo under water!

Nice yoga pose, sir!

J scouting out the unknown....

These little guys were sooooo cute!! And the one guy standing guard was awesome!

Did I happen to mention how disgustingly hot it was that day?! Here's my proof. Nice shinny face, Amanda!

Afterwards we headed to get some FP's for Expedition Everest. The ride looked so cool and I was starting to get really bummed since I knew I wouldn't be able to ride it.

We had a little time to kill before our breakfast reservations at Donald's Safari, so I had to try one of the chai teas!!

It was so yummy!! It helped that it was iced since the heat was getting worse by the second!
We then headed over for our breakfast ressies set for 9:35. We got there at 9:20 and saw more crowds!

We didn't get sat until 10!! I couldn't believe we had such bad luck with our meals the last two days. What a bummer!

Continued on next post...

 

[jenny105]

You're back!!! Yay!! Great pictures from the safari. I love that the ostrich is looking right at you. Also, we have a drive through safari at our local Six Flags. I've actually seen rhinos running after people's cars! It's insane!

 

[amandaluvsgoofy]

We were finally sent back and got to meet Donald (J's favorite character!).

Then we were taken to our table. I have to say, Disney coffee is quite tasty! Maybe I was exhausted and needed a little pick-me-up, but their coffee is great! And the juice they offered here was to die for!! Our waiter was gracious enough to continuously refil my glass, ha! Then the characters made their appearances.

My favorite guy!

I do have to say, I can't wait to bring our kids to Disney some day. It was so cool seeing the reactions of little ones when they see the characters!
Anyway, I was ready to eat by this point and headed to the food area!

Most of the food was pretty good! They had the typical American fare along with some tasty African treats!

This guy was hilarious! I didn't want to eat the food he was offering (some type of ham) and he told me I would have to take a picture of him, too!

After breakfast J and I both agreed it was good but would probably not go back (great treat, but nothing too special). I think it was because it was such a late time we probably over did it. I was disgustingly full afterwards and really needed to walk around. So we headed back out to the world of Animal Kingdom!
We decided to hit up Tough to Be a Bug!

The upclose shots of the tree are amazing! How cool would it be to be a Disney Imagineer!!

I really liked that show! A little crowded as we waited, but it was fun! I actually jumped out of my seat a couple of times which J thought was hilarious!!
We then headed over towards Maharajah Jungle Trek to walk off a little more breakfast (and to see the cool animals, of course!).
Cute little bats!

This ant-eater was so cute! She was not digging the heat (just like me!)!

I need to post a few more pics tonight (our computer crashe the other day but is now up and running). So I promise to continue/conclude our AK day ASAP!!

 

[jenny105]

We loooved Tusker House! We had an early reservation at 8:05 so there wasn't really much of a wait when we checked in. We're going there again in Feb!

 

[binkytell]

yeah welcome back, hope you and your princess are keeping well.

 

[belle8306]

I just read your entire TR. I am also a teacher (1st grade). Congratulations on your new baby! I am looking forward to reading more!