It's A Small World Afterall....Our Celebrating the Ride Report

3:00pm
It only took a half hour to get out of the park, load up, drive to Epcot, unload and get into the entrance. Thankfully, B did get a little catnap in. He usually naps 2-3 hours every afternoon though so this was little more than a tide over. Anyway, since we had time and it was raining we went to guest relations to get a Birthday Button for K and Anniversary Buttons for J & I for later. There was a bit of a wait but not bad. Maybe 10 minutes. The CM also made Celebration buttons for everyone for K's Bday even though I didn't ask! The kids were super excited about them. (Yes, we excite easily!) Once we were done there, we went over to the Land Pavilion to see if we could check in a little early. The rain was really coming down and even with umbrellas we were pretty wet by the time we got there. As in, hair flat, backs soaked. So much for looking nice for dinner! We checked in but were told we wouldn't get in til our reservation time. Which was fine with us. We needed to use bathrooms and dry off a little! B also needed a few more minutes to just chill. He beginning to get cranky and complain his tummy hurt. A sure sign of over exhaustion. I know you might be wondering why we just didn't cancel, eat the $10 and go home. Well, we're used to this, we know how much he can really handle and we were also told by a wise doctor to make sure we took the girls into equations like these. We could make B comfortable for an hour, heck he might even be feeling better in a few minutes (we just never know). Sometimes, his sisters deserve to be put first. This, was one of those occasions. While I booked it for K, I did it knowing the girls would LOVE it too. It was our only character meal.
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4:05pm
Almost to the minute our buzzer called and they took us to a table on the upper tier. They took us the long way to the ramp though so we got to walk all the way around the restaurant and see everything before we got to our table. We were one of the first few seated so didn't interrupt anyone with the walk which was nice. Our waiter, Luis, arrived quickly and explained the menu and how the family style buffet worked and took our drink orders. It worked out well to have a huge late breakfast and then just a snack around noon because we were good and hungry but not starving at 4pm. Luis was just fantastic and checked on us often. Our drinks were never empty and the food came quick.

We really enjoyed all of it. The beef and fish were especially good as were the salads, vegetable and especially the sweet potato fries! After polishing off two small plates in quick succession Luis brought us out a huge platter of them! Of course by that time we were getting full but we still put a pretty good dent in them! We all enjoyed the mac & cheese and couldn't get enough of the rolls! Really, the whole meal was fabulous! I would go again!

The characters came out about 10 minutes after we were seated starting with Mickey!
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He didn't stay long but was going to come back. As he was leaving Pluto arrived right behind him.
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B had been laying flat in his stroller for the first two character waves (I do means waves, pic and move on) and looking pretty out of it, just starring off into the distance. Then Mickey came around for the second time. After taking a picture with the girls and signing K's autograph book he went around to B and got down close. J sat B's chair up for him.
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I don't know what Mickey did. I think he must have whispered something to him because he didn't make any movement before B started smiling. It perked him up for the rest of the meal! He was beaming! Mickey spread the magic.pixiedust: I had a hard time not breaking into tears.
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Warning! Lot's of character photos to follow!
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Do these girls love Pluto or what?
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When it came time for dessert, Luis brought out chocolate cake with a candle on it and we sang happy birthday to K. She was really excited about it!
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Look at the tiny Mickey confetti!
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Luis happened to notice J taking off his own Bday button when we sat down (he wanted the focus to be on his sis) and brought out a dessert for J too! The guy has a quick eye! This of course meant I got half of it :thumbsup2 It was so light but chocolaty. Perfect after a heavy meal!
The blueberry dessert for the rest of us was amazing as well but we were so full we just couldn't eat more than a few bites of it!

Throughout the course of the meal we saw Mickey, Pluto & Dale three different times. However, we some how got missed by Chip so as we were eating dessert we asked if he could some see us. He came out a few minutes later and spent a good deal of time with us. Donald had caused him some trouble so he was late! All of the characters were so fun to interact with and made a big deal out of it being K's Bday which was really nice.
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I love this little moment with B and Chip
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Such an awesome meal!
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5:30pm
We had successfully dragged our meal into a 1.5 hr ordeal and done a full circle of the restaurant enjoying the different scenery. Happy and full we rolled ourselves out the door and downstairs onto the boat for The Land ride. It was just the thing. No one really wanted to be up and moving and since we were on the upper tier we had missed some of the finer aspects of the scenery we passed. The kids really got excited once they realized we were on the ride we had just eaten above. They also had fun in the green house pointing out all the plants they knew. We garden pretty seriously at home so they know their veggies!
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It was cold and rainy when we got out and B was just...done, so we decided to call it a day and head back to the hotel. After getting the kids ready for bed early and starting a movie, J got the idea to go shopping for shorts. While we'd been packing for the trip we looked everywhere and couldn't find his shorts! I have no idea where they got off too. My only guess is that they ended up in the giveaways some how and got tossed. Every...last...pair. It was bizarre. Thankfully, I had ordered him a pair of linen shorts to spruce up his wardrobe so he had been alternating between those and his linen pants since we'd arrived. K was fine with us running out for a bit so we put everything in order for B's care and left.

FREEDOM!!!!!!!!:cheer2: I can not express to you dear people the feeling we had as we drove away...without kids...in Florida...on vacation! We do occasionally get a date night at home. Once in the last 4.5 years we even checked into a hotel 5 minutes from where we live for a 24 hour break. But besides that. We've never left B for more than 6 hours and never on vacation! We went to the Orlando Premium Outlets on Vineland Rd. We only had about 45 minutes before they closed so we walked fast. We found a GAP store and since I had a coupon, went there first. We scored 4 pairs of shorts for $10 ea :thumbsup2 next we went to the Disney Character Warehouse to see what it was like. It was a lot of shirts, vinylmation, some princess & Minnie Mouse stuff, a few plush's etc. It's worth a trip if you have the time just for the Pins though! Lot's of neat pins starting at $1.99 up to $7.95 and they had last year's starter pin set and lanyard for $18.95 plus get one FREE! Yep, two starter sets with 8 pins and the lanyards for $20 AND they take Disney Gift Cards so I saved a bit there too. It worked out to $1.25 a pin and the lanyard was free. We got 4 of them. The kids were going to be soooo happy! I had bought 3 pins for each of us from the disneystore.com when they were on clearance not realizing just how much fun it was or how much the kids would get into it. Okay, how much we'd all get into it! For this price, I didn't care what they traded or if they lost one.

9:00pm
After leaving the outlet we called K and found out all the kids were asleep so we went to Downtown Disney! We really didn't know what we were going to do. We just wanted to be out and about! We found ourselves in front of Disney Quest and decided to check it out. We really had no idea what it was like. Since we have PAP's, spending just a few minutes wasn't a problem. YAY for PAP's!:cool1: We walked around for about 20 minutes but didn't do anything. We're not gamers or virtual ride type people so there wasn't much of interest to us. We're glad we checked it out without the kids and before planning a day for it. What made it totally worth while however was THIS cupcake.
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Like WOWZA. The moment I saw it, I had to have it. It was so rich, so decadent. So much peanut butter and chocolate dreaminess and all yours for $3.99 Worth...every...penny. Heck, I'd pay twice that. This was the start of a new love affair with Disney cupcakes. :love: I crave them constantly while there and even now back home I have to have a cupcake at least twice a week. It's awful!

After the Blissful Chocolate Heartache we called it a night and walked slowly back to our car. Bonnet Creek Resort is 5 minutes from downtown Disney so it was a quick trip home. It was so reassuring to know we're never more than just a few minutes away from the family at the resort should anything ever happen.

It was such a great day, even though it was still a bit chilly and rainy for parts of it. It's just such a huge thing for us to be able to take this trip and we were all having so much fun!

Total food expense today: RFC tip, AK snacks & GG & cupcake $184.00*
Other expenses: (pins) $40.83
*this would have been $10 more but the Garden Grill gave us a discount for B since the waiter found out he was tube fed and didn't eat. Totally unexpected pixie dust!
 
I know it's been awhile since the last installment. It's been crazy around here. Out of town family arrived from both sides, we all got sick for the week of 4th of July and then B ended up in the hospital for 5 days from complications of the flu. He's back home now and doing better praise God!

Back to the Mouse....

April 22nd - Day 5

9am - We had decided the night before that we were going to take today off and go with the flow. We slept in! Okay, K and I slept in, J woke up at 9am and couldn't get back to sleep. When he went into the living room he found our three kids up and playing with their new toys. After taking care of B's morning care he took them out to explore the resort.

First they met the local ducks and ducklings.
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Then they decided to play mini-golf. You have to get the clubs and balls from the activities desk which was near our tower (can't remember the exact location) and then walk over to the other side of the lake but they didn't mind. It really doesn't take long to walk around and it's so beautiful!
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Yes, that is B in his PJ's. My DH never was good at getting the kids dressed.
The mini golf course was just challenging enough to be fun, not challenging enough to be frustrating.
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10am - When they got back I got up and made some coffee for everyone while the kids got some breakfast. It was so relaxing. No where to go, nothing to do but sit out on the balcony sipping a latte. heaven.:cloud9:

11am - Apparently, we don't relax well because by this time we decided to do something with the day. The girls and I all went shopping. K needed to get gifts for people at home and the girls wanted to start spending money. We left J and B to go to the pool and went to Target first. Next we checked out Walmart and then 3 of the near by Character Warehouses. Everyone found a couple small things like key chains, pins and K found stuff for her friends for much less than at the parks.

1:30pm - We stopped for some lunch at Mc D's and brought food back for J. I realized at this point that I needed to figure out what other fast food places there are out there so I can recognize them and have more variety.

When we got back we all decided to go to Epcot. So off we went!

2:30pm - We didn't have a plan, Soar'N and Test Track were out of the picture as the wait was either too long or FP were gone for the day. So we did some pin trading! The kids were itching to trade all their new pins!
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We had given each of the kids a gift card with $25 on it and anything they had earned before the trip. The great thing about doing this is they have their own money and when it's gone, it's gone. Another benefit is they get some practice making purchases on their own.
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Next we went on the figament ride, it wasn't impressive. The kids did like some of the interactive stuff at the end.
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Next was Spaceship Earth. Sorry this one is blurry, it's the only one of three that wasn't completely useless. I was trying to snap a pic while it was still light enough I didn't have to use my flash.
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5pm - After we were done here we brought the kids over to the Sunshine Seasons to get them some dinner. The girls split the kids Mongolian Beef with grapes, a juice box and rice. K had the adult version. Everyone liked their meal. (J and I were saving our stomachs for later!) When they were done eating we head back to the condo.

6:30pm - After getting everyone settled back into the condo and B's care set up for K, J and I head out! The whole reason we invited K along was so J and I could spend a few nights celebrating our 10th anniversary. She was worth every penny! We get into such a rut at home. Go to a movie, or to dinner or to a movie or to a friends house. Nothing creative, we don't have the energy or brain power to plan! This was our chance! We went back to Epcot and head straight for Yorkshire Fish Shop, we'd been craving their fish n chips drowned in malt vinegar for a year! We meandered to the Boulangerie Patisserie and I got a napoleon and J got a tart of some kind. Oh yum! I LOVE pastries. Which is why I got my own. Not going to share this one! I was disappointed in the atmosphere of the larger facility compared to the tiny little shop we visited last year. The shop had been crowded but it felt so REAL. A and I had sat at the little bistro table outside the window and had what we now call our "French Moment". Ahh will miss that.

Anyway, upward and onward to more food! A shared bratwurst and beer were our next stop even though we were getting a little full. Call me lame but I can not seem to find any pictures of all of this! I could have sworn I'd taken some:furious: Maybe I just thought I did but was in reality, just soaking in the moments with my sweetie :lovestruc That's what I'm telling myself anyway!

8:30pm - After our tummies were full, we had to then hightail it over to test track. J had been smart and gone over to get FP's before we left the park with the kids earlier. We were both so excited! Our first ride actually sitting together!
Look at our cool car!
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We were pretty thrilled with the whole ride and by the time the picture was shot J was giddy with the prospect of speed.
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By the time we were done the park was closing so we hopped over to Magic Kingdom! Just not before we took a Spaceship Earth picture.
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We started by walking hand in hand down Main street. I was so happy I could burst! We decided to ride Pirates again since it was a 5 minute wait and the Jungle Cruise which was also a walk on. Nothing like a romantic and hysterical boat ride to set the mood.

10pm - The park was really starting to get empty and I was in such a good mood we decided to go to Tomorrowland and give Space Moutain a try. However, Buzz Lightyear only had a...no wait! So we went on twice right in a row.
Take one: J seems so intense for a Star Cadet. Me, I don't know what was going on, let's just say Zurg had me mesmerized.
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2nd attempt at Galactic Hero: J actually made it and seems stunned he did so. I was still a Star Cadet. Both times I just did so miserably. I don't know what was wrong! Any tips for winning at that ride?
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10:30pm -I'm all psyched out for Space Mountain!
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We went on SM twice in a row because there was no wait. I would have gone again but J was feeling queasy. I finally felt like I'd really conquered my fear of rollercoasters! (Well, the little ones anyway!)
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We walked slowly back toward Main Street just as the Electrical Parade was getting underway. We savored the sights and sounds and the ability to walk around without constantly watching for our kids. We could just relax. Our night couldn't have been more perfect!

Today's Food Expenses:
McDonalds: $15.57
Sunshine Seasons: $16.36
Yorkshire: $9.58
Patisserie: $9.06
Sommerfest:$15.65
Total today: $66.22
 
Great Updates!
I really love that photo of your little guy with Mickey. He's got a 100Watt smile!!! What a cutie!
 

Great Updates!
I really love that photo of your little guy with Mickey. He's got a 100Watt smile!!! What a cutie!

Thank you! We think so too :)

It's about 100 degrees here all this week so we're spending a lot of time out at the in-law's pool. It's been GREAT weather training for our September trip. Which is only :scared1: SEVEN WEEKS away!!

Once it cools off and I'm around a computer long enough to finish my work and write the next installment of the TR I'll be doing so. Hopefully, this weekend! I figure I better finish this report before leaving for the next trip!

In the meantime, I'm off to make another iced coffee and head to the pool.

OH, in case you find yourself in need of the best iced coffee ever try this:

Not for the Weak Iced Latte
In your favorite 16oz iced beverage cup with straw:
2 shots espresso (or 1/2 cup really strong coffee)
2 tbls sweetened condensed milk (yep you heard me)
1 shot syrup flavor of your choice (My current flavor is 1/2 chocolate 1/2 hazelnut, it's like Nutella in a cup but with coffee, NOM!)
4 ice cubes
fill remainder with cold milk.
Stir, drink, repeat. :drinking1
 
Thank you! We think so too :)

It's about 100 degrees here all this week so we're spending a lot of time out at the in-law's pool. It's been GREAT weather training for our September trip. Which is only :scared1: SEVEN WEEKS away!!

Once it cools off and I'm around a computer long enough to finish my work and write the next installment of the TR I'll be doing so. Hopefully, this weekend! I figure I better finish this report before leaving for the next trip!

In the meantime, I'm off to make another iced coffee and head to the pool.

OH, in case you find yourself in need of the best iced coffee ever try this:

Not for the Weak Iced Latte
In your favorite 16oz iced beverage cup with straw:
2 shots espresso (or 1/2 cup really strong coffee)
2 tbls sweetened condensed milk (yep you heard me)
1 shot syrup flavor of your choice (My current flavor is 1/2 chocolate 1/2 hazelnut, it's like Nutella in a cup but with coffee, NOM!)
4 ice cubes
fill remainder with cold milk.
Stir, drink, repeat. :drinking1

Mmmm, sounds yummy. I'll have to give that a try! :thumbsup2
 















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