Jumping, Dancing & Jamming Our Way Through Walt Disney World! I'm With the Band Now!

[MEK]

Your pictures of the parade turned out GREAT! Wow!

 

[natebenma]

Ouch on your return trip after Thanksgiving! At least you didn't get sick until Monday night. I can't imagine if you had been feeling like that while in traffic.

Fantastic parade photos! I especially like the one of Remy and the one of Boo. The Pixar movies and characters are awesome!

 

[jenseib]

Oh my word...what a long ride home. UGH..

the good news is that you saved some cash on your trip!!! Yay!

I hope you are feeling better. Claire is getting a cold of some sort now and is miss snotty lately. Just in time for her birthday...which is Sat.

I love your parade pictures. I haven't seen the newest one...but it looks like a great picture taking opportunity!

 

[deedeew80]

Hi Lisa! Hope you had a restful weekend and caught up on your much needed sleep!!!! Looking forward to hearing (reading!) all about the trip!!

 

[TinksThree]

I thought about ya'll as well. We went to Gatlinburg and I looked for you all but, with all those folks around, I probably wouldn't have spotted you if you had been standing 10 feet in front of me.

We left about 11:00 a.m. which was an hour or so later than I wanted but we couldn't make ourselves leave Lacey & Jesse until the last minute.

The traffic started right after we left Pigeon Forge and didn't let up until we got close to Birmingham. It was horrible!

We watched for you as well but there were so many people sometimes! At times I couldn't keep up with my own family! That was the busiest I have seen it at Thanksgiving in the last 5 years.

It is so much harder to leave when you are leaving people behind! Keith got on the road and he has a one-track mind....HOME! We had to beg to stop for food and to pee!

You had an awesome spot for the parade! Wonderful pictures!!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Good morning! I've been trying to catch up with all of my subscribed threads and then come back to post replies. Hunter had a strings concert last night and was recognized for winning a medal at his last competition. He was also one of four middle school students chosen (from three different schools) to play with the high school orchestra which made this Mama swell up with pride.

I'll try to get back here in a little while to post replies and an update. I need to get a few things off my desk first. Wouldn't want the bossman mad at me when we are so near Christmas bonus time.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Good morning! I've been trying to catch up with all of my subscribed threads and then come back to post replies. Hunter had a strings concert last night and was recognized for winning a medal at his last competition. He was also one of four middle school students chosen (from three different schools) to play with the high school orchestra which made this Mama swell up with pride.

Congrats to Hunter! That is definitely something for him to be proud of...and you too of course. After all, great kids don't happen overnight!

I'll try to get back here in a little while to post replies and an update. I need to get a few things off my desk first. Wouldn't want the bossman mad at me when we are so near Christmas bonus time.

I absolutely adore your sense of humor! It keeps me coming back to this thread!

I put my comments in RED.

 

[Bethislucy]

Made it back. I was only 10 pages behind. I just kind of avoided the disney boards since my trip fell through, but I had to come back and finish reading about your trip. Glad your friend is doing better, sounds like it was pretty scary. Great updates.

 

[jenseib]

So proud of Hunter!

I seem to be having problems updating too. It seems like so much is going on, that I can barely get every day things done. I was going to walk on my treadmill and then work on my next installment...well Mom just called and is sick. I need to run to the store and get her some meds now....but thats OK.

 

[mickeystoontown]

So proud of Hunter!

I seem to be having problems updating too. It seems like so much is going on, that I can barely get every day things done. I was going to walk on my treadmill and then work on my next installment...well Mom just called and is sick. I need to run to the store and get her some meds now....but thats OK.

Thank you! We are pretty proud of him as well.

If you'll notice, I am updating while at home which I hardly ever have time to do. Hope your mother is feeling better!

Made it back. I was only 10 pages behind. I just kind of avoided the disney boards since my trip fell through, but I had to come back and finish reading about your trip. Glad your friend is doing better, sounds like it was pretty scary. Great updates.

I hate to hear that your trip fell through. I forgot to look and see if you have a new ticker.....did you get to reschedule?

I put my comments in RED.

We are pretty darn proud of Hunter! There were only four students chosen to play with the high school and he was one of those. My kids certainly didn't get any of their talents from their mama...that's for sure. I always say that my talent is that "I type real fast!"

The bossman has been driving me nutso lately but I've been grinning like a Chestshire cat 'cause, like I said, it's almost Christmas bonus time.

We watched for you as well but there were so many people sometimes! At times I couldn't keep up with my own family! That was the busiest I have seen it at Thanksgiving in the last 5 years.

It is so much harder to leave when you are leaving people behind! Keith got on the road and he has a one-track mind....HOME! We had to beg to stop for food and to pee!

You had an awesome spot for the parade! Wonderful pictures!!

I had all of the family looking for ya'll. It was so busy in Gatlinburg that it was hard to even walk along the sidewalk.

I wish we had been able to go straight home without stopping.....stopping on the darn interstate that is!

Hi Lisa! Hope you had a restful weekend and caught up on your much needed sleep!!!! Looking forward to hearing (reading!) all about the trip!!

Thank you so much! I'm going to do an update in just a minute.

Oh my word...what a long ride home. UGH..

the good news is that you saved some cash on your trip!!! Yay!

I hope you are feeling better. Claire is getting a cold of some sort now and is miss snotty lately. Just in time for her birthday...which is Sat.

I love your parade pictures. I haven't seen the newest one...but it looks like a great picture taking opportunity!

The trip home was the worse trip I have ever had. I would have been okay with a 17 hour drive if we had actually been driving and not stopped on the interstate.

Tell Ms. Claire that I hope she has a wonderful birthday Saturday!

Ouch on your return trip after Thanksgiving! At least you didn't get sick until Monday night. I can't imagine if you had been feeling like that while in traffic.

Fantastic parade photos! I especially like the one of Remy and the one of Boo. The Pixar movies and characters are awesome!

I thought the same thing....thank goodness we weren't sick while on the road. Being sick at home is one thing but it's another to be sick while on the road.

I love the Pixar movies too and really enjoyed the parade since there were so many Pixar characters in it.

Your pictures of the parade turned out GREAT! Wow!

Thanks!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Look who finally made it over to her own trip report.....Moi'. I keep trying to get caught up with all my subscribed threads and then I get behind on my own. But, it's so much fun to see what everybody else is posting.

You'll notice that I'm updating in the evening which is not my "norm". I usually update while at work in between projects/typing. It's been busy at work so I haven't had the time. On my way home this evening, I decided that I didn't want to cook so I stopped and picked up BBQ so I wouldn't have to. That freed up a little time. Time that I've decided to take to post a trip report update.

So, let's get this update going............................................................

When I left off the report, we had watched the fantabulous Pixar Pals Parade (at least I think that's what it is called) and Mama had arrived at the park just in time to sit with the kids and watch a little of it. Speaking of the parade, I found a few more parade pictures that I thought I'd post to remind you where I left off.

Once the crowds had thinned a little, Mama, Lacey and Hunter walked over to where we were and we decided to go over to the Animation Building and do the tour. Making our way over:

For some reason, I don't have any pictures inside the building which is unusual for this ubber picture taker but I don't see them in my Photobucket album. I know that we didn't wait to see any of the characters because, as you may have noticed in the picture above, a whole lotta folks were headed in the same direction as we were and I think they all went to the exact same place because the lines for the characters were looooong. We went to see how long the wait was for art class and the class was full and the castmember said the one after that was almost full. None of us wanted to wait that long and we had an ADR at Mama Melrose's coming up soon.

So, what we were going to do? How 'bout visiting the Muppets at Muppetvision 3D? Sounded good to everyone so off we went!

We saw this guy on the way:

Every time we see a Green Army Man, it reminds us of when Hunter was about 5 or 6 years old and he met a Green Army Man. Hunter told him he could do push-ups and the Green Army Man acted as if he didn't believe him. Hunter promptly dropped to the ground and started doing push-ups. Then Hunter told him that he could do one-armed push-ups. Again, the G.A.M. shook his head in disbelief. Hunter did not one, not two, not three, not four but five. A crowd had started gathering and watched Hunter and the G.A.M.'s interaction. By the time Hunter had done his fifth push-up, a crowd had gathered. The G.A.M. raised Hunter's arm in the air and the crowd started clapping like crazy! It was a cool moment and one that Hunter still remembers.

Back to present date and making our way to Muppetvision:

Before going in, I took pictures of our surroundings:

Walka-Walka!

As always, we enjoyed the Muppets thoroughly! John especially likes the part where Miss Piggy kicks the bunny and then he gets back at her by pulling her across the lake backside up.

***Up next: Fantasmic Dinner Package at Mama Melrose's

 

[KatMark]

an update. But do not feel bad...I've been doing the same thing. I love the Hunter story.

 

[mickeystoontown]

We had about 30 minutes before our dinner ADR but I figured we would stay in the area since Mama Melrose's was just right near the exit of Muppetvision 3D.

I had booked the Fantasmic Package at Mama Melrose's because Mama, simply, can not stand for an hour waiting to get into the theater to see Fantasmic. Her legs just ain't what they used to be and standing for very long can cause her a good bit of pain. And, waitin's not really our thing. If we had to wait an hour or more, we may end up doing what we did to each other the year before:

Hey, those choking pictures earned us four Fastpasses to Rock N Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror! As a matter of fact, I was thinking about doing it again just to see what it'd earn us this time. Probably just a sore neck!

Gosh, sorry, I'm having flashbacks of previous trips aren't I? Anyway, I had booked the Fantasmic package and our restaurant choice was Mama Melrose's. It was hotter than hecka decka outside so the family went to find a place to sit while I checked us in.

The hostess area of the restaurant was so crowded that when I opened the door and a man, literally, almost fell out backwards. Dumb bunny shouldn't have been leaning on the door. Just saying! After about 15 minutes, it was my turn to check in and another woman tried to worm her way in front of me. What the flim-flam? Hold on a minute there sista, it was my turn and I skirted my way in front of her and gave my name to the castmember who...surprise, surprise...told me that they were running behind. As if I hadn't already guessed that. They told me to come back in about 15 minutes and check in.

When I found the family, they were sitting at an umbrella table outside Pizza Planet sipping on a little of liquid refreshment a/k/a Coca Cola:

We people watched for a while and saw some pretty interesting sights. I often wonder if people actually look at themselves from the neck down when they look in a mirror. I may not look the best of the best, but I do try to match, I don't have pants that crawl up the crack of my booty, I don't wear gosh awful colored shoes, etc. etc. etc. But, I appreciate the fact that people do go outside looking that way because it does give me something to look at when I people watch.

After my 15 minutes were up, I went back to the restaurant and it was just as crowded as it had been before. At least Ms. Pushy Pants wasn't there and I was able to check-in. I was told again that they were running behind and that we needed to stand near the entrance since they would come out and "yell your name" when a table was ready. I went back to gather the family up and we stood outside the restaurant in what little bit of shade there was.

Oh have mercy! Look at my hair.....it was curling up in all the wrong places and I probably gave some people watchers something to look and laugh at. Oh well, I don't know them from a man in the moon so I'm okay with it. How could I really care any way when I had made a complete fool of myself during my performance with Mulch Sweat & Shears earlier that day?

You'll see that Mama has a menu in her hand in the picture above. After I snapped John's picture with Hunter, he went to the restaurant to get a couple of menus to peruse while we waited.

After about 20 minutes or so, we heard "MCBRIDE FAMILY" being yelled and in we went. I believe we were seated somewhere near the middle of the restaurant. Not long after we were seated, our waiter came and took our drink orders and I snapped a few pictures:

**Continued in next post

 

[mickeystoontown]

Gosh darn photobucket, it froze and I lost the next part of my installment. I'm too pooped to start it again so I guess I'll rewrite it in the morning.

 

[deedeew80]

Hi Lisa! Great update! Is this your first time at Mama Melrose? I've never been there before. Hope it was good! Can't wait to hear about it & what you all had to eat!!!

 

[Caretames1]

I love to people watch too! It's the best thing to waste time. I just keep remembering the guy with the checked pants you guys saw though the Crystal Palace window.

I can't wait to see your reveiw of Mama Melrose. I don't waiting for Fantasmic either, so maybe....

 

[mickeystoontown]

The waiter brought our drinks and a basket of bread and a bowl of oil:

Call me crazy but I would have preferred having soft spreadable butter instead of the oil. I'm not saying it was bad, it's just a personal preference.

With the Fantasmic dinner package, you can order not only an entree and a dessert but you also get an appetizer. We decided to all order something different so that we could have a sampling of it all. I took this picture while we waited and you can tell that the heat had zapped our energy:

Our appetizers came out and we were ready to dig in.

Fried calamari which was a plate for two so it took two appetizer credits:

Mozzarella and tomatoes:

Mixed green salad which was a big hit:

Caesar salad:

As you might recall, Hunter is a picky eater and is not one to try different food items, especially those that he doesn't recognize. I told him that I'd give him $5.00 if he tried a calamari ring. Of course, he jumped on the deal and, of course, he had no idea what the heck calamari was. He ate one and then said "hand over the money". It wasn't until after he had swallowed that I told him what calamari was.

Not long after placing our order, our entrees came out. Again, each of us ordered something different. I ordered the Chicken Campanelle - wood-grilled chicken over Campanelle pasta tossed with Romanesco, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh spinach and sweet Onions in a Four-Cheese Cream Sauce:

John ordrered the charred Strip Steak - Italian Roasted Potatoes and Cipollini Onions, Aged Balsamic-Shallot Butter, and Chianti Wine Reduction:

Lacey ordered the pork chop which I guess is no longer on the menu since I don't see it on allearsnet:

Mama ordered Oven-baked Chicken alla Parmigiana - over Spaghetti:

It was picky eater's turn to order and he told the waiter that he wanted a plain cheese pizza but not one of the little kids' pizzas. The waiter said that it was no problem. This is the pizza he received and it definitely wasn't a kids' size pizza:

**I'm going to go ahead and post this installment because Photobucket is acting all wonky again. Up next: desserts!

 

[KatMark]

Between the DIS and Photobucket, I'm not sure which one has been more annoying lately with all the problems.

Sorry you had such a long wait at Mama Melrose; we've eaten there several times and I know one time we had a very long wait. But we've always had a good meal and enjoy the atmosphere. I'm curious if you liked your entrees.

Good for Hunter trying something new. We did that to Mark's best friend when we first started dating (although we bet him a "shot"). He ate it, threatened to do us bodily harm and never touched it again.

 

[mickeystoontown]

John, Hunter and I all really enjoyed our entrees. Mama and Lacey weren't that impressed with their dishes. In Mama Melrose's defense, my Mama isn't that big on italian foods and probably should have ordered something other than the chicken parm. Lacey doesn't like a lot of sauces and didn't think to tell them to leave off the sauce on her pork chop.

Let's move on to our desserts shall we! John ordered the
Mama's Panna Cotta Tiramisu-flavored custard with ladyfingers and Cappuccino cream:

I ordered the Chocolate Cannoli Cake - with cannoli and nutella filling:

Mama, Hunter and Lacey all ordered gelatto in various flavors:

The desserts were a smashing success and, by the time we had finished, we were all full and were wondering how in the world we were going to wobble our way around the park.

Would I go to Mama Melrose's again? Absolutely! What about the rest of the family? John: Yes Hunter: Yes Mama: Maybe Lacey: Maybe


**Up next: What do we do until Fantasmic?

 

[KatMark]

Now you've gone and done it. I didn't have any breakfast this morning (forgot to bring my Fiber One Bar to work), and I am now drooling over your desserts...especially the gelatos.

I'm glad to read you all (mostly all of you) enjoyed Mama Melrose.