I'll Show You My Lapu Lapu If You Show Me Yours continued...Updated 11/12 w/more pics

[DisneyJo]

Your BIL is such a big kid in the water isn't he, how on earth did he manage to come down the slide on his feet?

 

[Castillo Mom]

Your BIL is such a big kid in the water isn't he, how on earth did he manage to come down the slide on his feet?

Well, he surfs on a regular basis and has been doing it since he was very young. He also loves skateboarding but he doesn't do that as often now that he and my sister have a one year old. He has really good balance which you can see by the picture of him sliding down the pool railing.

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

Wow, Lisa! I am impressed! You're crankin' these installments out, aren't you?

Love all the family photos! You guys look like you're having such a BLAST!! Ahhhh, the Poly... how I love her!

 

[Castillo Mom]

Wow, Lisa! I am impressed! You're crankin' these installments out, aren't you?

Thanks for the encouragement. You've got 3 TRs under your belt so you've been my inspiration!

Love all the family photos! You guys look like you're having such a BLAST!!

We did!

Ahhhh, the Poly... how I love her!

It's a cold and dreary day today. Would love to be at the Poly right now.

 

[Castillo Mom]

8/27/07 - TL and Grand Gathering

As we weren't already water logged enough, today the plan was to go to TL. That's ok because like I mentioned before, my family love swimming and anything pool related. We were also able to sleep in again this day.

After yet another quick breakfast at Captain Cook's off we went to catch the bus for TL.

We arrived and had no problems finding a nice shady spot. We wasted no time in heading right for the water. We always have a blast when we visit TL, it's beautiful, relaxing and a blast! I could've spent another day here.

Ahhh the swaying palm trees.

I love the sound of the horn that blows whenever a big wave is about to be let loose.

Dude, brush your hair! He looks like this blue guy-->

We spent most of the day here and had a wonderful time riding all the slides and relaxing in the wave pool as it was closing time. We hopped on the bus and headed back to the Poly.

We got back the resort in time to get ready for very special evening, our Grand Gathering at Epcot, Illuminations International Dinner and Dessert Reception.

All purtied up and ready to go.

I miss my SIL so much.

My sister being a brat.

Yay, another ride on the monorail.

For some reason this evening the monorail stopped a couple of times en route to Epcot which caused us to arrive at the Odyssey a little late. My niece missed the beginning of the kid's activities but was able to participate in most of the fun.

Kahlei having fun dancing with the kids.

Her daddy Tony being a big kid himself!

Before I go any further for anyone interested, this Grand Gathering experience includes buffet dinner, activities for the kids which includes storytelling, character interaction, a separate dessert reception and VIP viewing of Illuminations.

Now for more comments on the food. As much as I enjoyed the evening I have to be honest about the food. It was the worst meal we had this trip, even worse than the one at Chef Mickey. On a scale of 1-10 I'd have to rate it a 4, barely edible. The buffet was a combination of Italian, Mexican, German and I don't remember what else but it tasted like a bunch of frozen entrees that had been microwaved and dumped in chafing dishes. Yuck! Disney really needs revamp the menu here, especially in light of the fact that it 2 dining credits are required for this event. I don't remember what the actual cost was per person but it was $$$.

No one looks very thrilled with the food in the following pics do they?

But we made the best of it and had a good time anyway.

After semi edible meal, we were led out to the VIP viewing area for Illluminations. One consolation was the dessert buffet. It was waay better than the actual food, excellent in fact.

Unfortunately I didn't have a tripod with me so I didn't get any decent shots of the show. This is the only couple that came out somewhat decent.

.

After the show we took our time walking through World Showcase and enjoyed the fresh air and twinkly lights. We then went back to the resort to catch some zzzzzs.

 

[Castillo Mom]

8/28/07 - MK and Pirate & Princess Party

We got Mickey wake up call this morning which was appropriate because we were going to MK. So we dragged ourselves out of bed and got ready to go.

We hopped on the monorail and were whisked away to MK. Before getting on any rides, we stopped for a quick breakfast at Main Street Bakery. I have to say I like it here much better than Blue Ribbon Bakery at DL, much better variety of yummy treats.

Since we were going to the Pirate & Princess Party later in the evening, we decided we'd all focus on my niece Kahlei and do Fantasyland first.

Who doesn't love Dumbo?

Next we rode Peter Pan's Flight.

Look who we ran into outside of the ride.

Me and my babies.

We can never get enough of POTC but we like the one at DL better.

Next we rode one of Daniel's favorite rides, Pooh.

After a few more rides in Fantasyland we went over to Tomorrowland and rode SM, Buzz, Stitch and Star Tours. We then watched the Monsters Inc. show which was very cute.

By this time we were pretty hungry so we had lunch at Columbia Harbour House. I prefer DL to MK but I must admit that MK has better food especially when it comes to counter service.

We wanted to take a break so we went back to the Poly. We stopped in the gift shop and this is when I told the boys that we were going to the Pirate & Princess Party. They were so surprised! We went back to the room to hang out and chill for a couple hours.

We all showered again and got ready for dinner then went back to MK. We arrived in plenty of time for our ADR at Crystal Palace.

Waiting to get our grub on.

The food at this buffet was so delicious! And the desserts, yum! They had probably the best flan I've ever had at a restaurant.

After dinner off we went to get on some rides. I won't go into detail but rode all of our favorites and with minimal wait.

My pirates snatched themselves a hostage.

Arrghh, she's a wicked wench aint she?!

The little princess.

Once we got our fill of doing the rides it was time for the parade.

Wonder actual liquor in that flask??

We had an absolute blast at the party! For us it was totally worth the additional cost to attend this event. We had an awesome time acting like big kids and just being silly. My only regret is that we lost track of the time and missed the special fireworks. Oh well, maybe next time.

Last picture of the night.

 

[DisneyJo]

What a pity about the food at the Grand Gathering, the desserts did look good though

We went to a P&PP last August too and it was great. The fireworks were awesome so definitely check them out next time

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

I do regret not doing P&PP! You guys look like you're having such a great time!

BTW, you niece is adorable!!

 

[Castillo Mom]

What a pity about the food at the Grand Gathering, the desserts did look good though

That's ok, live and learn. We had a great time anyway.

We went to a P&PP last August too and it was great. The fireworks were awesome so definitely check them out next time

Yes, if it's still around the trip after next (2011) we'll probably do it again.

I do regret not doing P&PP! You guys look like you're having such a great time!

I highly recommend it, especially for groups of extended family and/or friends. The more the merrier!

BTW, you niece is adorable!!

Thanks. I miss her terribly.

 

[Castillo Mom]

8/29/08 - Downtown Disney and Adult Night Out

After last evening's festivities it was very difficult to wind down, so we got to bed very late. Thank goodness I planned another sleep in, non park day.

We got up around 10:00 or so and took our time getting ready. We then used a few snack credits at the Kona Island coffee bar on what else, coffee and pastries. Love this place! It's one of the few locations in WDW where you can get real coffee.

So we arrive at DTD and hit a few of the shops. After an hour or two our tummies started grumbling, so it was time for some grub. We headed on over to Wolfgang Puck Express. What I love about this place besides the obvious is that it's counter service but they bring the food to you on real tableware. But anyway, back to the food. It was delicious! After all I read here on the DIS about WPE, it did not disappoint. As I mentioned before, I don't remember every single meal we had but the ones I do remember is because they really stood out in a good way.

We all took a bite or two of each other's entree. Daniel had the four cheese macaroni which was a yummy pile of cheesy goodness. My sister had the rosemary rotisserie chicken with mashed potatoes - OMG, best counter service chicken in WDW. David had rigatoni and chicken bolognese, again, delicious! Damian had rigatoni with chicken alfredo which I don't remember but I'm sure it was good. I had the roast beef and cheddar on focaccia bread. It was also excellent with yummy homemade potato chips. For dessert I had creme brulee as did most everyone else at our table. It was to die for and I voted it best counter service dessert.

After stuffing ourselves silly the boys made a beeline to Disney Quest where they spent the rest of the afternoon and evening.

My sister, her hubby and I continued shopping while my SIL and BIL took Kahlei to BBB for her photo session.

I can spend some serious money in this place!

Princess Kahlei

Our little group split up. My SIL, BIL and Kahlei had an ADR at Captain Jack's but I had other plans.

Unfortunately we got a little side tracked what with the shopping. We were suppposed to return to the hotel to freshen up and change for dinner, but it got late so we skipped that part.

We made it on time for our ADR at Raglan Road. I had been looking forward to this evening the entire trip. I love my kids to death, but it was grown up time!

The place was packed although it didn't take long for us to be seated. Yes! We got a table front and center of the stage as I requested.

The restaurant was gorgeous - dark wood and the bar was imported from Ireland. I've read complaints about the restaurant being too loud, but what do you expect from an Irish Pub? I think I'd be worried if it wasn't loud!

First order of business after being seated, drinks! Even though my BIL is 12 years younger than me he has way more knowledge than I when it comes to beer. He ordered me a car bomb which is kind of difficult to describe as the details of the evening are slightly fuzzy. At tableside the waitress basically took a shot glass and filled it half way with Bailey's Irish Cream and then topped it off with Irish whiskey, Jameson I think. She then dropped the shot glass into a very tall glass of Guiness. The trick was to drink it very quickly. If you don't,the drink begins overflowing and will curdle due to the mixture of the cream and beer. I did my best but wasn't able to down the whole thing. So as not to waste a drop, my BIL did me the favor of finishing it off.

Putting forth my best effort! As you can see by the empty glass next to my BIL, he finished his in no time flat.

After the Car Bomb, I downgraded a bit to a yummy, somewhat sweet-tasting, girly beer. Unfortunately, I don't remember the name but hopefully they'll still have it there next trip.

Somewhere between the beers, we ate. For appetizer I had the drunk chicken which was very good. For my main I had the shepard's pie. I'm pretty sure it was good too. For dessert I had Ger's Bread and Butter Pudding. I was on .

Oh, almost forgot about the entertainment which was excellent. They had a couple of girls who performed Irish step dancing. Again, we had great seats because they were literally right in front of us.

Performing that evening was a great Irish band called Tuscar Rock. During a break my BIL engaged in a friendly conversation with them. Being a drummer they invited him to perform a song with them. It was one of the highlights of the trip!

Hopefully my sister will actually get to try a drink or two next trip.

I think I was done for the evening.

We had an absolute blast here and we'll definitely be going back.

We were still full from our late dinner so we walked around DTD a bit longer. My BIL joined the boys who were still at DQ while my sister and I checked out a couple more stores.

Lots of changes coming to this area of DTD. Hopefully they'll be good ones.

One of the places I never got a chance to try.

By this time of night we couldn't handle any more walking so we all met up at Virgin Megastore, bought a few CDs and then went back to the resort. All in all a great day!

 

[DisneyJo]

Your niece looks so sweet and how nice you got some adult time, not sure about the car bomb though