IT WAS LEGEND..(wait for it)..DARY!!!

[MeLaNie9]

We were all ready for a fun MK evening and headed over to Columbia Harbour House for dinner. We had eaten here in the past and I really like their salad.

On our way across the park we happened to be in front of the castle for the castle lighting. I am so glad that we caught this. They did a little skit where Cinderella asks her Fairy Godmother to cover the castle in ice for the holidays then there was a countdown and then....

WOW! We all thought this was so beautiful!

At CHH, I met with the manager to discuss Bear's options and she was quite helpful. I ordered him the grilled chicken strips from the salad, some grapes, and some applesauce. They gave us a huge pile of the chicken and again, he cleaned his plate! Unbelievable!
I had the Garden Galley Salad (mixed greens with chicken, pecans, pineapple and feta cheese). I really like this combination of ingredients and it is a huge salad. Oddly, the last time I ate this salad at CHH all of the chicken was at the bottom of the bowl such that at first I didn't think there was any in the salad at all. This time, all of the ingredients were easily found!
Dee and Kay had the chicken strips and said they were good. Ralphie had the chicken and fish combo. He liked it better this time than the previous time we had eaten here. He shared his meal with Nemo who also had some of Bear's grapes and fries from the others.

We stepped out of CHH and walked toward the parade route for SpectroMagic and quickly found a good viewing spot. I love SpectroMagic!
Dee and Kay were so impressed with all of the lighted floats, they really enjoyed this. Nemo and Bear were mesmerized by the lights.

The 3 Little Pigs

The peacock is my favorite in SpectroMagic

When the parade was over, we headed back towards the castle to see Wishes. I think that this is my favorite nighttime show at WDW. I am a huge fan of fireworks - I don't need the lasers and fire and all that other stuff (although I do enjoy the other nighttime shows as well)!!!
The boys actually stayed awake for the entire show and didn't seem to mind the noise of the fireworks.

After the show, we hung around in front of the castle to admire its icy look some more and to avoid the crush of folks heading to the exits and the bus lines. We eventually made our way out and headed back to CSR and that long loop to bus stop 1!

Up next: "...she's still preoccupied with 19, 19, 1985!"

 

[kmab00]

We missed Spectromagic this trip! Your pictures are great!! Love the wishes pictures! And Crystal Place is a great place to eat!! We did a breakfast this year at CP also and it was SO GOOD!!!! Great updates!

 

[CHEK]

I alway's love to read how families get on with their children that have food allergies, as my eldest is allergic to Eggs, Tree Nuts and Kiwi fruit!, But to be honest WDW is the place that seems the most prepared for our children , I also contacted Brenda Bennett , ok yes we had 1 Chef who wasn't too interested in her allergies and made us feel like we were being OTT, but when it's yours that suffer then we have every right to be OTT, to maintain that they are safe . Loving reading your trip report

 

[stitchlover]

Love your report! Can't wait to read more.

 

[JKMJ441724]

The peacock is my favorite in SpectroMagic

Mine, too.

We have missed the parade on our last two trips. It is a must see for us in October.

 

[reelmom]

We travel with inlaws also. It has it's perks but it can be sooooo rough sometimes. Can't wait to read more.

 

[MeLaNie9]

We missed Spectromagic this trip! Your pictures are great!! Love the wishes pictures! And Crystal Place is a great place to eat!! We did a breakfast this year at CP also and it was SO GOOD!!!! Great updates!

Thanks kmab00! We have now done both breakfast and dinner at CP and I think that breakfast is the "winner"! It's already on our list for our next trip!

I alway's love to read how families get on with their children that have food allergies, as my eldest is allergic to Eggs, Tree Nuts and Kiwi fruit!, But to be honest WDW is the place that seems the most prepared for our children , I also contacted Brenda Bennett , ok yes we had 1 Chef who wasn't too interested in her allergies and made us feel like we were being OTT, but when it's yours that suffer then we have every right to be OTT, to maintain that they are safe . Loving reading your trip report

Thanks for popping in CHEK! I was indeed impressed with Disney's handling of the food allergies (the exceptions were 2 restaurants that I think are not Disney owned - I will get to these at the end of the TR). I certainly hope that Bear outgrows his allergies (and that he doesn't have any others once he is tested for the other common ones in April) but if he doesn't, I think that WDW will be our yearly family vacation destination!!! I never feel like I am being crazy or OTT because I was there when he had his bad reaction to milk protein and I was terrified, and I am a physician! I would never want to go through that again. Sometimes I think that my parents or the in-laws think I'm being crazy about it, but they didn't see him like that!

Love your report! Can't wait to read more.

Thanks for reading stitchlover!

We have missed the parade on our last two trips. It is a must see for us in October.

I have pictures of the peacock from our 2000 trip and each trip since! I hope you catch Spectro this time around!

 

[MeLaNie9]

We travel with inlaws also. It has it's perks but it can be sooooo rough sometimes. Can't wait to read more.

Hi reelmom!
I will have to take your word for it on the perks!!!
Because, it got even worse for us...

 

[Pixeldust Fairy]

Im glad you tried Splash Mountain. And OOOHH dole whips, arent those just a little bit of heaven! Hope to hear more soon.

 

[snowbell]

I am really enjoying your trip report. Sorry Kay did not want to go on any of the rides. That is a real bummer.
I cannot wait to hear more.

 

[Lovemy3babes]

I'm in! Great report so far. Too bad Kay is ditching so many fun rides. Her loss obviously. What great care you were given for Bear's good allergies. That speaks volumes regarding Disney! Can't wait to read more.

 

[MeLaNie9]

Im glad you tried Splash Mountain. And OOOHH dole whips, arent those just a little bit of heaven! Hope to hear more soon.

I was pretty proud of myself because I am such a ride wimp. I loved the scenes throughout. I think that I have to learn to keep my eyes open on a big hill - I think having them closed makes it worse for me! And yes...dole whips are awesome! I have a feeling that we'll be stopping at Aloha Isle at least once on every future trip!

I am really enjoying your trip report. Sorry Kay did not want to go on any of the rides. That is a real bummer.
I cannot wait to hear more.

Snowbell...Kay was a total downer on this day. I freally felt bad for Nemo because he was so looking forward to riding certain things with her. I think that he had been talking for months about "riding Goofy's Plane with Auntie Kay".

I'm in! Great report so far. Too bad Kay is ditching so many fun rides. Her loss obviously. What great care you were given for Bear's good allergies. That speaks volumes regarding Disney! Can't wait to read more.

Hi Lovemy3babes! Thanks for reading! I can't say enough good things about the WDW restaurants and their dealing with the allergies - other than the 2 I mentioned previously and will get to at the end of the trip.


I hope everyone who is experiencing this huge winter storm is safe and warm and staying off the roads! We are totally snowed in here in Cleveland. We haven't even seen a plow on our street yet. It started last night and I was on call - thank God I didn't get called in because I don't know if I would have made it to the hospital or, if I did make it in, I probably would still be there! It hasn't let up yet! We have drifts around the house that are over 4 feet tall! Well, it should give me a chance to update tonight!

 

[Dizneyholic]

I hope everyone who is experiencing this huge winter storm is safe and warm and staying off the roads! We are totally snowed in here in Cleveland. We haven't even seen a plow on our street yet. It started last night and I was on call - thank God I didn't get called in because I don't know if I would have made it to the hospital or, if I did make it in, I probably would still be there! It hasn't let up yet! We have drifts around the house that are over 4 feet tall! Well, it should give me a chance to update tonight!

I would love to be snowed in at least once in my lifetime! Although I'm sure you're pretty much over it!

Looking forward to hearing more...

 

[MeLaNie9]

I am going to take a little detour - a flashback if you will (cue music and squiggly lines)...to July 1985. This is when my family took our last family vacation ever - to WDW then on to visit my grandparents in Ft. Lauderdale. This vacation was a big deal for my parents who scrimped and saved for it. We had to drive, in our dark green Buick Century, with overnight stops on the way. We did not stop for fast food and the like, because we had to save for eating at WDW so we had a big cooler and the usual vacation travel foods that my mom always packed: little cereal boxes (the kind that you could open up at the side and pour the milk right in), milk, cantaloupe, soda, and that Planters 3-pack of snacks (cheese puff balls, pretzels, and potato strings - does anyone else remember this?)
This story is a classic in my family and whenever we tell it to people they get a kick out of it. So here we go....

First - my family:
My Mom - you'll see that she was in her short permed hair stage
My Dad - had a penchant for polyester coach's shorts as you will also see, he had them in all colors
Me (Melanie) - also in a short hair stage with plenty of Sun-In added, I was about to be a high school freshman
Brother #1 (Christian) - always a quiet kid, he and I never got along very well, he was 10yo
Brother #2 (Tommy) - was totally excited about his trip, his first to WDW ever, he was 7yo

We had finally made it to Florida and we had a plan to check out Cape Canaveral then stop to try to watch a scheduled space shuttle launch. We stopped in Titusville, Florida - a pretty small town that was a short distance away from the shuttle lift-off site. We got a patio table at a restaurant/bar and sat waiting for the countdown and lift-off.

Here we are waiting for the lift-off

The shuttle - looks like I took this photo from inside the car, sorry about the reflection!

Well, we waited and waited and waited. Finally the lift-off was scrubbed. Well, we got back in the Buick and headed out of Titusville for Orlando. The car had been having a few issues - overheating. So my dad had decided to empty out the cooler and fill it with water to periodically stop and pour it into the radiator? (I am not sure exactly what he was doing with the water - just that he needed it for the overheating - a mechanic I am not)

Well, we got a little ways away from Titusville when the car totally died. We pulled over to the side of the road and wondered what to do next. We were far enough away from Titusville that we knew it would be a hike and my mom didn't want to hike it alone or with any of the kids and she also didn't want to sit at the side of the road with the kids without my dad. So then this guy with a motorcycle pulls up. My dad had a motorcycle at this time of his life and my mother would never get on the thing - she called it a "death trap" and thought he was nuts to ride it (his nephew had been severely injured in a motorcycle accident). Anyways, motorcycle guy offered to take one of my parents back to Titusville, but they were stuck because my mom didn't feel safe on the side of the road with the kids if my dad left. So push came to shove and she climbed onto the back of the cycle. She was crying because she was so scared to ride on it! Actually, it was kind of funny. I think that the 3 of us were giggling as she climbed on and they took off.

So there we were on the side of the road. Then a car pulls up, driven by a guy in a NASA uniform. My dad describes our predicament and this guy says, "Well, I will take your kids back to Titusville for you."
I am sure you're thinking, "Oh no he didn't".

Oh yes he did...my dad was like "Sure - thanks!" and puts us in this guy's car!
I was terrified as the oldest and feeling responsible for my brothers. I was certainly old enough to have thoughts running through my head of this guy taking off with us and kidnapping us, selling us into child slavery, killing us, etc! And, I had no idea where Titusville was - how far away we were, etc. I was watching out the window for a Titusville sign and well...freaking out.

Thank goodness NASA guy did indeed take us to Titusville and he pulled into the first gas station/mechanic shop. My mom was standing outside (she had already sent the tow truck out) when we pulled in. So NASA guy pulls in and her 3 kids pile out of this stranger's car...you should have seen the look on her face When my dad arrived in the tow truck she really let him have it! And I mean, really let him have it!

Then, we we left the car at the mechanic shop in Titusville and rented a Chevette. Yep, a Chevette. We had things piled all over the car, on top of us, jammed up against and blocking the windows.

We finally made it to WDW.

This was one topiary that was along the drive into the Contemporary where we were staying - we thought these were awesome and had to pose with them. We were so disappointed to discover that they were fake!

I had to put this in - Dumbo with the old Skyway above it

This shows both my favorite WDW ride of all time - 10,000 Leagues Under the Sea - and that it was crowded (hot too - we were there over July 4th)

I like to call this one "Goofy and Goofier" - Christian and Tommy

Continued...

 

[MeLaNie9]

During one of our days at WDW, my dad had to drive the Chevette back to Titusville and pick up our "fixed" car. My mom and the 3 of us spent that day at River Country.

Christian and Tommy at River Country. We had so much fun here!

My dad drove on back to WDW and on that trip, the car had some more problems. Kind of a jerking movement periodically. This meant that he had to take it immediately to the WDW mechanic shop for more repairs. I am sure that this cost a pretty penny

Epcot was brand new then and I absolutely loved it!

The fireworks and laser light show in Epcot was just amazing (I am not sure if it was called Illuminations then)! Note my dad's shorts and my super cool sunglasses!

I had to put this in - my brothers and I in front of Canada's waterfall, just like the picture of Nemo!

Although I remember enjoying WDW this trip, my mom says that the 3 of us were absolutely horrible because it was so hot and crowded. She says that all we did was whine about wanting to go back to the hotel to swim. At one point in MK the 3 of us sat down on the ground and refused to go another step unless we headed back to the Contemporary to swim! (I actually do not remember this, but I can imagine that I was the ring-leader of this little sit-in ) Well, we were pushing my mom over the edge!

We then piled into our car fixed by Mickey and visited my grandparents for a few days, then headed back home. Somewhere in West Virginia, the car started making funny noises and doing the scary jerking thing...my mom lost it!
We had broken down, she had to ride a motorcycle, my dad sent us off with a stranger, we were horrible in WDW, they had paid a fortune to fix the car and it was doing bad stuff again! She had reached the end of her rope. She was screaming and crying and said, "This is it, this is the last family vacation that we will ever take!!!"

Well, we made it home, but the green Buick was done for and we indeed never took another family vacation again!!!

In his defense, my dad always says that it was a "kindler, gentler time" then and "the guy had a NASA uniform so he must be trustworthy"
Whatever Dad!

 

[BPCooper]

Well, we waited and waited and waited. Finally the lift-off was scrubbed. As a matter of fact, the launch of Challenger was postponed until the day when it lifted off and exploded.

Nice recount and photos. If this was July 1985, then the launch and scrub you were at would have been STS-51F on July 12. The engines shut down just three seconds before liftoff, one of only five times in the history of the shuttle that the engines ignited and had to be shut down. It was postponed to July 29 and lifted off that day. The Challenger accident was several missions later, on Jan. 28 1986.

 

[MeLaNie9]

Nice recount and photos. If this was July 1985, then the launch and scrub you were at would have been STS-51F on July 12. The engines shut down just three seconds before liftoff, one of only five times in the history of the shuttle that the engines ignited and had to be shut down. It was postponed to July 29 and lifted off that day. The Challenger accident was several missions later, on Jan. 28 1986.

Ben...Thanks for trying to help my memory! Now I am thoroughly confused. I was pretty sure that we were in WDW on July 4th, so our stop to watch a launch would have been before that (on our way down to Orlando). I know that my dad had to go from WDW to Titusville to pick up the car while we went to River Country and then the car had to be fixed again at WDW so the breakdown was before we got to WDW. I thought that my parents told us that we were looking at Challenger, but I checked the NASA shuttle missions page and none seem to correllate with that time frame (late June, early July). I am also pretty sure that the engines never started up - that we just stared at the shuttle on the launching pad for hours without any action. Would such a thing even be listed? If the shuttle in question sat there without engines starting? I think I did know that Challenger had a mission before the explosion in Jan - I will have to amend that in my story! (Previous posts edited)
I am going to call my mom to clarify the whole thing because now I feel that my memory is really going

 

[MeLaNie9]

OK - Now I have it all figured out and boy, its amazing how you can remember some things so vividly but not others...I can remember all of the pieces-parts of this trip but am a bit off on the time frame. My mom had a hard time with the time frame as well (she has probably blocked it from her mind )

Our car did break down outside of Titusville, Florida on our way to Orlando. The sequence of events with the car is correct. We were in WDW (Epcot) on 4th of July 1985. The fireworks and laser show we saw was their 4th of July show and it was impressive!

We went from WDW to my grandparents home in Ft. Lauderdale.

We then headed back north and that's when we stopped in Titusville again - this time to watch the Challenger launch on July 12th and so my dad could argue with the mechanics about the bill since the car had to be fixed again. We waited and waited (neither my mom nor I remember the shuttle engines actually starting up) and the launch was scrubbed and we headed home and the car acted up again in West Virginia, my mom had her breakdown, we made it home and that was our last family vacation ever! She also added that the car had to be fixed again at home and then they got rid of it!

What was confusing for me (lost from my memory) was that the car happened to break down outside of Titusville but we hadn't actually been in Titusville prior to that, but were back in Titusville on our way home. I had always remembered it the way I initially reported it, but now it's clarified...Despite my confusion I hope you can appreciate the comedy of errors that this trip was!

 

[reelmom]

Love the Flashback trip. Reminds me of when we went August 1986. It was soooooooooooooooo hot.

 

[Lovemy3babes]

LOL! I love that story! Your poor mom, bawling on the back of that motorcycle. Ha!!