I was WAY BEHIND!
But, I'm all caught up now - wonderful updates!!!
And now for my 3 million comments....
Loving all your DIS meets, and what a great balance with solo time.
As the parade started (and the below is my one picture from this parade) a mom encouraged her two kids to squeeze in front of us. 
That is a VERY cool pin!!
What a pain about the mother sending her kids to stand in front of you!!!!! Seriously, that kind of stuff drives me nuts. We always seem to encounter those families too, just completely rude. We staked out this spot, and these people squeeze in minutes before the parade/show thinking they can just go wherever. Erg! Sorry to had to deal with that too.
I never get tired of exploring One Mans Dream. Im sad if it is really going away. Everytime Im in there I find something new.
I had no idea they might be taking it out!!!!!!!
I get so far behind on Disney news sometimes. Why would they take it out? What might replace it? Why, why, why?! It is SO COOL and an excellent place to educate children (and adults alike!) on the awesomeness of Walt Disney.
As soon as I heard that duchess potatoes was code for cheesy potatoes I was sold on this dish!! Cottage Pie - Ground Beef with Onions, Carrots, and Green Peas topped with Duchess Potatoes $18.99
Just typing that brings another story to mind. Something that would become a theme for the trip shrieking children at the table. Im not a mom. Maybe my tolerance is lower. But there was this kid a few tables over who would shriek at the very top of his lungs. And then hed get a crayon or other treat and do it again. And the parents made no move whatsoever to take him out of the restaurant. Kids get upset and antsy. I get it. But when it becomes apparent that this isnt a passing tantrum then I think the parents have to do something about it and not subject the other diners to it. Even our waiter rolled his eyes at them.
As I dodged puddles and squished my way up the walkway to the Beach Club lobby, standing there with baskets full of dry towels were the life guard staff.
What a very lovely meal at R&C, despite the rain!
That Cottage Pie looks and sounds AMAZING. Yes, the R&C will be a must do on our trip next year, DH will flip over that with cheesy potatoes!
I am a Mom of a 2 year old and the shrieking kid thing does happen to us all; however, as you noted, there is a way to handle it and it is called discipline! It drives me NUTS that parents don't do anything about this! We always explain to Henry he cannot yell, scream, etc. in a restaurant (or at home for that matter!), and if he continues to do so, we remove him, he always calms down and realizes he was naughty, and we can come back and enjoy our meal-and so can those around us. Plus, we bring stuff to distract him. Toys, crackers, etc. Does wonders. He does shriek in excitement sometimes over dessert though!
(but I do too
)
Love that the life guard staff were there with towels! Very nice!!!
Speaking of Miss Jen, doesnt she look cute at her birthday dinner?
Loved your review of CG! Joe and I are eating there later THIS MONTH (love saying that) for the first time. I'm going to try the sushi (drool), and I'm sure he'll get a flatbread. I haven't figured out what to choose as my main entree though. Was the goat cheese polenta very cheesy? I'm not a huge cheese fan - though, if I recall, goat cheese is pretty mild, right?
And yes, Jen, you look adorable at your birthday dinner! Love that necklace!
We interrupt this TR to bring you news of a December trip! Yep, I decided that I just cannot miss an opportunity to see Marty Sklar speak. And another TSM party doesn't hurt either. 
Yacht & Beach Club is booked (at least with the discount I booked under) so I'll be sticking with the Wilderness Lodge which should be nice and Christmasy. I've never stayed there and know nothing about it... HELP!!
What do I need to know? What shouldn't I miss? How do you feel about the restaurants there?
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
When I heard about all the plans for DAP I became very jealous that I wasn't going! We originally had our dates planned for then, but it just works better to go over New Years - and I am pretty darn excited about seeing those fireworks in person.
Anyway, the WL. Love it, love it, love it!
What do you need to know? Hmmm...if you have a Courtyard View room you can request "Inner Courtyard" which means the back wall of the resort when looking at it from the pool-so you get a straight on view of the pool and the lake, its really pretty! You can see the Electrical Water Pageant from your room this way too. Speaking of which, the music is quite loud at the resort, so you can easily hear it in your room, or watch right on the beach.
The geyser goes off every hour, on the hour. It's pretty cool to see.
The boat to MK is a nice treat, and the bus to MK literally takes 5 minutes. So getting to the monorail resorts is very, very easy.
The food court, "Roaring Forks" is quite small. The selections are pretty limited. I believe there are some normal hot meals-like burgers and fries, nuggets, and then some sandwiches and salads-and that's it. Morning has the normal breakfast platters along with a "build your own yogurt or oatmeal." with fresh berries, granola and a few other things to choose from. For some reason, I found their oatmeal crazy, crazy good.
There is a little balcony that overlooks the pool/lake on like the 5th floor or something. It has a couple rocking chairs on it. It's pretty and very relaxing.
I hope that helps a bit!
I didn't quote them all, but LOVE your late night DHS pics! All the glowing neon and the quietness of the park I'm sure made it very magical and lovely! And what a great meal to share with friends, it sounds just like an awesome day!
This probably sems like a VERY boring update. No formal meals and just random wandering around WS. But, to be very honest, there is nowhere Id rather be. So in a way, this was my version of celebrating today.
Not a boring update AT ALL! Beautiful WS pictures!
His buddy was relatively quiet and the couple seemed to neither encourage nor discourage him.
The new groom admired it. Before they left, the mad scientist gave it to the groom. Of course he did it by challenging him, do you want it? well, do you? are you a wimp (he did not use the word wimp he used another word Im not very fond of)? are you? And finally the groom took the bracelet and the inventor left. And peace was returned to the margarita stand.
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34500495&postcount=324
How in the world did that couple stay serious when talking with him about it?!
I probably would have tried to be kind, just nod and smile and say "interesting..." but REALLY. Oh, hilarious!!
And what is with the defensive deal when trying to give someone a gift?
Is that a man thing???? Weird.... but, I guess it shouldn't surprise me considering his new product idea!
I headed home from Downtown Disney and wasnt tired yet. And my private entrance makes dashing in for Illuminations too easy to resist!
Okay, I just LOVE this. You get back from DTD and just simply make a dip into Epcot. Seriously, dream, dream, dream, LOVE IT! And it really makes me want to stay at the BC even more so I can do the same.
Some of the inventions people want to do are crazy, one guy came onto the show actually wanting to implant a blue tooth headset into peoples ears! Then he had this head phone type gadget with a long metal spike that went into your ear to charge it. 
SIGH 
