Mingos in the Watah! What in the Wuhld?

[PlutosRHM55]

Sending out thoughts and prayers for all who are in the path of this storm. We sincerely hope you guys make it through with no damage to anything or anyone.
Keep us posted, please, as the weekend goes along.
Storm Central right here.

Thanks MeMom! I just learned like yesterday that the storm would be coming our way though it isn't going to be as bad, but my mom's not letting anyone leave the house on Sunday so... not going to be. I hope everyone stays safe whose on the storm path! I'll be on here tracking the storm with everyone else

For those of you who do not already know, our dear DIS friend, Jackie, has had to deal with the illness of her mom over the last little bit. She wanted to keep it sort of quiet as they dealt with it in their family. Most of you now know her sweet mother died yesterday. I have been texting with her off and on through her mom's hospital stay. It was extremely critical at first, then it looked like maybe she was responding a little better, but in the end, she lost her fight. Jackie says she is devastated, of course. She thought she had many more years with her mom. Her words broke my heart this morning when she said, "I have lost my best friend. I talked to her every day."

I have fought back tears a few times today in thinking of her. I know you will all hold her family close in thought and prayer in the days ahead. This was unexpected, so they are just dealing with it as it unfolds before them. I imagine she is in some degree of shock, too, as are the kids. Just pray for their comfort as they grieve for someone they dearly loved.

I'm so sorry for your loss, Jackie, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. The DIS is here for you

Everybody also think of Marc and Anita as they get ready for Marc's surgery tomorrow. We hope he feels better very quickly.

I am going to hope this is my last 'bad' thing for this week. I am very sad to have to report that a little boy that I have asked you to keep in mind in the past on other reports, Crew, the grandson of our school's speech pathologist, died today. He was a beautiful little blonde-haired three year old boy with a very sick body. He has an older brother and a younger one who will not get to have the privilege of growing up with him. Please keep this sweet family in your thoughts, as well.

This has not been one of the best weeks of my life, but as much heartache as there has been and as much as may come ahead, I know who holds today, tomorrow, and forever, and I am good with that.

I don't have it in me tonight to put up trip pictures, but I will try to do that tomorrow. Take care of yourselves and rejoice in today, everyone, no matter what your circumstance. It truly will be okay.

I wish Marc a smooth and full recovery.

Awwww... I'm sorry to hear about Crew, MeMom. I'll keep his family in my thoughts as well. And I'm sorry to hear you haven't been having a good week, but we're always here to help you through it all, remember that

 

[frazers mum]

Thanks for the update. Bella looks really proud to be wearing her swimming costume. I spent many an hour on our last trip sat around the bowling pin pool, ah happy days... I have never eaten at the GG. Do you not feel the motion of it going round? Brooklynn is as smiley as ever with the characters. What a brave girl. Bella looked very brave keeping an eye on them all from behind the comfort zone of the booth

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Awwww... the girls look adorable in their "baybing" suits And I love how Bella's face is all scrunched up because of the life check, though she looked like she was having the time of her life A good sign there.

I love all the 2011 merchandise! They really went all out with it this year. My friend has the shirt displayed, almost got it on my last trip, but I have a better one of course Heheheeh

YAY! EPCOT! And what better place to go at EPCOT than the GARDEN GRILL! Love, love, LOVE the Garden Grill! It's my family's favorite Disney restaurant and probably the only thing I can talk about Disney-related with my dad without him getting angry And you guys seemed to have a fun time! Pluto wasn't being rude or anything, right? I always have to check up on that darn dog, uh, client And Bella looked like she was about to go up and see the characters, she had such a big smile on her face. And the food looks SOOO Goood.... oh I wish I was there right now.

Can't wait to read more!

 

[Happy Elf]

What cute little swimmers!

Garden Grill was delicious! Plus it was magical for us....too bad that magic didn't work on Bella too!

I loved the kids dessert! Too cute!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

My girls have those same tinkerbell crocs. Well, they DID. Do you need any bigger sizes? I've got two pair, slightly used...

Those red/pink PJs were sold on our cruise on the Dream too. We HAD to buy them, since I didn't switch the PJs into the right suitcase!!
I'll have two pair of those next summer...slightly used...

Jeez, I should send you a box of stuff!


Never eaten at Garden Grill - is the food yummy? It looks good.

 

[vamassey1]

Such a sad week.

Jackie I'm so sorry for your loss. Because it was somewhat unexpected I know that makes it worse. I'm praying for you and your family.

Such sad news about little Crew too. I can not imagine losing a child. More prayers going out for his family.

On a lighter note, I really enjoyed this update. We stayed in the Jukebox section in 2009 so this was our pool to hang out in. I had to drag Danielle out every time.

I have only eaten at Garden Grill once in 2007. We enjoyed the fresh food and the characters were great. I think most of them came around twice. I love the picture of Belle turned around looking to see who was coming next. Brooklynn looked like she was enjoying the characters. Interesting all the different backgrounds in the character pictures. Did they like the food? I have to admit I didn't care for the spinning floor. I have a problem with any spinning.

 

[stace208]

Such sad news about little Crew. Goodness, that is just heartbreaking.

I sent my well wishes to Marc on Facebook. I hope he has a successful surgery and a quick recovery.

Did you guys enjoy the food at Garden Grill? It is one of our favorites. We have always had good character interaction there too.

Storm update: lots, and lots, and lots of rain so far. The wind has been moderate but the worst hasn't hit here yet. Still have a few more hours until that. We are expecting major tidal flooding between 6-10 pm tonight. Already have lots of trees down and some damage to houses (not ours, thankfully). We are thankful that we still have power, internet, and no major damage at this point. Hopefully will update again tomorrow!

Continued thoughts for safety for all those in this path!

 

[chloe770]

Jackie- I'm so sorry for your loss. You are in my prayers.
Marc and Anita- Also in my prayers. I hope everything went well.
Memom- It's always sad to hear of a childs passing. You and the family are aslo in my prayers.

Weather update- The wind has really started to pick up here. Our one and only tree is bending pretty good. 2 neighbors have left trampolines out so I expect to see them passing thru my backyard soon. We still have power as of right now, but I don't expect that to be the case for to much longer. 1 neighbor has lost some siding and my laundry room roof is leaking a little bit. So far not to bad actually. probably should check the basement too. Be safe everyone.

-Dawn

 

[MeMom]

Pop Century AND Epcot! Two of my very favorite Disney things!

We haven't been to Garden Grill in years, but I remember it being a lot of fun. The fact that it moves is just even better. Your pictures really make me so much more excited to be back in just 130 days. I feel like it is going to fly by come September since this is probably going to be a crazy semester for me. I can't believe that in just a month, we'll be in the double digits!

It does seem to me like fall flies by. When school starts, the weeks just roll by.

It looks like Bella wants to go to Pluto but the toddler in her is holding her back. She is so curious yet when they come close she balks. She will be ready soon, in her own time.

Yeah, it won't be much longer before she feels comfortable. Maybe in December. We shall see.

love the pics, great trip report!

Thank you.

The Garden Grill is such a fun place.
Love Bella chillin in the water & checking out the characters from a distance!

She couldn't eat for watching characters, but she wanted them to stay far away from her.

Thanks MeMom! I just learned like yesterday that the storm would be coming our way though it isn't going to be as bad, but my mom's not letting anyone leave the house on Sunday so... not going to be. I hope everyone stays safe whose on the storm path! I'll be on here tracking the storm with everyone else

I'm so sorry for your loss, Jackie, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. The DIS is here for you

I wish Marc a smooth and full recovery.

Awwww... I'm sorry to hear about Crew, MeMom. I'll keep his family in my thoughts as well. And I'm sorry to hear you haven't been having a good week, but we're always here to help you through it all, remember that

They had to postpone Marc's surgery. I know he'll be glad when this is over!

I hope everyone gets the good news of the storm weakening.

Thanks for the update. Bella looks really proud to be wearing her swimming costume. I spent many an hour on our last trip sat around the bowling pin pool, ah happy days... I have never eaten at the GG. Do you not feel the motion of it going round? Brooklynn is as smiley as ever with the characters. What a brave girl. Bella looked very brave keeping an eye on them all from behind the comfort zone of the booth

Bella loves Minnie and Daisy. She was proud of her Minnie swimwear, as you can see.

Wouldn't it be nice to be sitting at a table by the Bowling Pin Pool right now?

Garden Grill moves ever so slowly. I don't have motion issues, so I had to stop and really concentrate to notice the movement.

Awwww... the girls look adorable in their "baybing" suits And I love how Bella's face is all scrunched up because of the life check, though she looked like she was having the time of her life A good sign there.

I love all the 2011 merchandise! They really went all out with it this year. My friend has the shirt displayed, almost got it on my last trip, but I have a better one of course Heheheeh

YAY! EPCOT! And what better place to go at EPCOT than the GARDEN GRILL! Love, love, LOVE the Garden Grill! It's my family's favorite Disney restaurant and probably the only thing I can talk about Disney-related with my dad without him getting angry And you guys seemed to have a fun time! Pluto wasn't being rude or anything, right? I always have to check up on that darn dog, uh, client And Bella looked like she was about to go up and see the characters, she had such a big smile on her face. And the food looks SOOO Goood.... oh I wish I was there right now.

Can't wait to read more!

I got two 2011 pens and a 2011 clip magnet to use at school. Whenever I use them, it helps me stay happy.

What cute little swimmers!

Garden Grill was delicious! Plus it was magical for us....too bad that magic didn't work on Bella too!

I loved the kids dessert! Too cute!

We liked Garden Grill, but I don't think it's anything we'll do again for a while. We have some favorites we'll do over, and we have a lot we still haven't gotten to yet.

The dessert was cute.

My girls have those same tinkerbell crocs. Well, they DID. Do you need any bigger sizes? I've got two pair, slightly used...

Those red/pink PJs were sold on our cruise on the Dream too. We HAD to buy them, since I didn't switch the PJs into the right suitcase!!
I'll have two pair of those next summer...slightly used...

Jeez, I should send you a box of stuff!

Never eaten at Garden Grill - is the food yummy? It looks good.

I can pretty much guarantee you that Jill would be thrilled to have any hand-me-downs for the girls!

The food was good, but in my opinion, that wasn't the best meal for us. Our best meal of the trip was 'Ohana, which came the next night. I always like to try a new Disney restaurant, though, so I am very glad we ate there.

Such a sad week.

Jackie I'm so sorry for your loss. Because it was somewhat unexpected I know that makes it worse. I'm praying for you and your family.

Such sad news about little Crew too. I can not imagine losing a child. More prayers going out for his family.

On a lighter note, I really enjoyed this update. We stayed in the Jukebox section in 2009 so this was our pool to hang out in. I had to drag Danielle out every time.

I have only eaten at Garden Grill once in 2007. We enjoyed the fresh food and the characters were great. I think most of them came around twice. I love the picture of Belle turned around looking to see who was coming next. Brooklynn looked like she was enjoying the characters. Interesting all the different backgrounds in the character pictures. Did they like the food? I have to admit I didn't care for the spinning floor. I have a problem with any spinning.

I don't think either girl ate a whole lot that night, to be honest. They enjoyed the characters, and Brooklynn got tickled that we were turning.

We have stayed in the Jukebox section, too, and we really liked it. We were right on the pool - ground floor. It'll be interesting to see how the rooms will be drawn out now that there are four categories.

Such sad news about little Crew. Goodness, that is just heartbreaking.

I sent my well wishes to Marc on Facebook. I hope he has a successful surgery and a quick recovery.

Did you guys enjoy the food at Garden Grill? It is one of our favorites. We have always had good character interaction there too.

Storm update: lots, and lots, and lots of rain so far. The wind has been moderate but the worst hasn't hit here yet. Still have a few more hours until that. We are expecting major tidal flooding between 6-10 pm tonight. Already have lots of trees down and some damage to houses (not ours, thankfully). We are thankful that we still have power, internet, and no major damage at this point. Hopefully will update again tomorrow!

Continued thoughts for safety for all those in this path!

The character interaction was good. The way the seats are, the characters can't possibly forget which kids they haven't seen.

Keep us updated. I hope you keep your power.

Jackie- I'm so sorry for your loss. You are in my prayers.
Marc and Anita- Also in my prayers. I hope everything went well.
Memom- It's always sad to hear of a childs passing. You and the family are aslo in my prayers.

Weather update- The wind has really started to pick up here. Our one and only tree is bending pretty good. 2 neighbors have left trampolines out so I expect to see them passing thru my backyard soon. We still have power as of right now, but I don't expect that to be the case for to much longer. 1 neighbor has lost some siding and my laundry room roof is leaking a little bit. So far not to bad actually. probably should check the basement too. Be safe everyone.

-Dawn

Jill's neighbors have a trampoline that has ended up flying into her yard a couple of times, too. I hope you guys make it through with nothing more than what you have now.

I feel very blessed that I never had to grieve for a lost child. I do not think I would have done too well. I have a friend whose son died of heart problems when he was 3, almost 4. I will never ever forget standing at the casket talking with her while she stroked his hair. I can't even imagine what pain that brings.

Marc and Anita are having a rough way to go this weekend. They both ended up getting sick, so it has been rough for both of them.

 

[disneyfan61]

Hopefully Irene will be downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it reaches NH because we're in the path too. We're expecting a lot of rain (and possible flooding) and power outages from the wind, but hopefully we won't have serious damage.

I hope everyone south of us makes out OK!

Hey Amy. I was thinking about you today as we were moving everything into the cellar & garage. Hopefully no serious damage for you.

MeMom I saw on FB this morning about Jackie's mom & also Marc's surgery. I was so very sorry to hear about Jackie's mom. I lost my mom 17 years ago & still miss her so much.

Also hoping Marc makes it through surgery just fine.

I am so sorry to hear about little Crew. I cannot even imagine what the family is going through.

On a happy note I love that Minnie bathing suit on little Bella. And she looks so cute swimming with her life jacket.

Great pics of Brooklynn at Garden Grill. That is one place we have not tried yet. Will have to do that sometime.

Well the storm should not hit here until sometime tomorrow afternoon-evening. I wonder what is in store for us when we get up to go to work on Monday. (If we go to work).

 

[CandleontheWater]

I'm so sorry to hear the news about little Crew! I couldn't imagine, how tragic!

The meal at Garden Grill looked really nice! Its one of the few Disney restaurants I have never eaten at, but I may have to remedy that soon! . The view looks so cool, was the food good?

As for storm coverage, things are still holding strong here in CT, although I can imagine that it won't be long before it starts to go downhill. We look like we're in for a direct hit, so that should be something! Luckily it doesn't look like the wind will be that bad, and my parents house is inland at the top of a big hill, so no flooding worries. I survived Ivan when I lived in Pensacola, FL, so really this should be a piece of cake, right?

 

[kathleen27]

I'm so sorry to hear the sad news this week.
Thoughts and prayers to Jackie and her family. And to Crew's family.



Those pictures of the girls certainly cheer you up though.
Bella is too cute in the pool, she looks like she's enjoying her swim!

Brooklynn looks like she is having a great time with the characters at Garden Grill. We haven't tried that one yet. So many Disney restauraunts!

We are as ready as can be for the storm, it should be here most of the day tomorrow. Just hoping the wind and flooding doesn't do too much damage. I expect we'll be without power at some point, which is something we can prepare for and deal with.

Everyone else on the east coast stay safe, hope you are doing ok.

 

[sunny_stace]

Let me start by saying that the photo of Bella just relaxing in the pool in her life jacket with a huge smile on her face, is honestly one of the sweetest, cutest things I've ever seen! That is pure, Hakuna Matata relaxtion! I love it!

And the pictures of Brooklyn at Garden Grill are super cute too! It certainly looks like she had a blast there! I would love to try Garden Grill sometimes. The idea of a moving restaurant amazes me too! I bet sooner or later Bella will warm up to the characters and have just as much fun with them as her big sister!

On a sad note, I am so sorry to hear about Crew. That is just so sad....his family must absolutely devastated. I'll be thinking of and keeping his family in my prayers. It just seems like there has been so much loss and heartbreak this week...it's nice that we have the Dis to come to and Dis-friends to lean on. I hope the weather is clearing up for everyone dealing with Irene as well.

 

[Tink9721]

Everything's okay here right now. It's just raining. It's not supposed to get bad until morning. My grandma(who lives in town) is staying here overnight and until things die down tomorrow night. In her neighborhood she can't get water when the power goes out. We just figured she'd be better off over here and now we won't be worrying about her if the phones go out. I'll keep you updated tomorrow. I'm keeping my phone plugged in all day tomorrow so it'll be fully charged if/when the power goes out.

The storm is coming in at high tide. I saw a picture of one of the roads that's right on the water and the water level is all the way up to the road already. It's gonna be a mess tomorrow. We're gonna have a lot of flooded streets. I don't think they did any mandatory evacuations but they recommended it for some people. My neighborhood would only be evacuated if it was a category 4 hurricane.

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Bella is too funny with those characters!! I love how she's eyeing them all around the restaurant. I'd imagine that a moving restaurant is pretty crazy to a 5 year old, definitely not something you see every day!

Weather update: it has been heavily raining and extremely windy here since around 1 or so. I think it's supposed to be like this until around noon, with less torrential conditions after that. Amazingly, the power here is still on (it shut off for maybe 5 minutes around 4:30, but came right back). Hopefully it stays that way!

 

[MeMom]

Hey Amy. I was thinking about you today as we were moving everything into the cellar & garage. Hopefully no serious damage for you.

MeMom I saw on FB this morning about Jackie's mom & also Marc's surgery. I was so very sorry to hear about Jackie's mom. I lost my mom 17 years ago & still miss her so much.

Also hoping Marc makes it through surgery just fine.

I am so sorry to hear about little Crew. I cannot even imagine what the family is going through.

On a happy note I love that Minnie bathing suit on little Bella. And she looks so cute swimming with her life jacket.

Great pics of Brooklynn at Garden Grill. That is one place we have not tried yet. Will have to do that sometime.

Well the storm should not hit here until sometime tomorrow afternoon-evening. I wonder what is in store for us when we get up to go to work on Monday. (If we go to work).

We had scheduled Garden Grill for lunch a few years ago, but before we were to get there, they did away with characters during the lunch times, so this was our do-over. We definitely wanted to get pictures of Mickey in his farmer clothes.

Thank you for keeping all of our hurting people in your thoughts.

So far, all of the DIS people that I have seen reporting are only having minor things like leaking roofs and torn fences. Those things are no fun, but at least they are not major, either.

I'm so sorry to hear the news about little Crew! I couldn't imagine, how tragic!

The meal at Garden Grill looked really nice! Its one of the few Disney restaurants I have never eaten at, but I may have to remedy that soon! The view looks so cool, was the food good?

As for storm coverage, things are still holding strong here in CT, although I can imagine that it won't be long before it starts to go downhill. We look like we're in for a direct hit, so that should be something! Luckily it doesn't look like the wind will be that bad, and my parents house is inland at the top of a big hill, so no flooding worries. I survived Ivan when I lived in Pensacola, FL, so really this should be a piece of cake, right?

The food was good. We like anything, so we like all of our Disney meals. I don't think it's something we need to put high on our list, but it's something we wanted to try, and we enjoyed it. The characters were really good with the girls.

I'm glad you parents have no flooding worries. Hang in there. By the end of today, things should be better everywhere.

I'm so sorry to hear the sad news this week.
Thoughts and prayers to Jackie and her family. And to Crew's family.

Those pictures of the girls certainly cheer you up though.
Bella is too cute in the pool, she looks like she's enjoying her swim!

Brooklynn looks like she is having a great time with the characters at Garden Grill. We haven't tried that one yet. So many Disney restauraunts!

We are as ready as can be for the storm, it should be here most of the day tomorrow. Just hoping the wind and flooding doesn't do too much damage. I expect we'll be without power at some point, which is something we can prepare for and deal with.

Everyone else on the east coast stay safe, hope you are doing ok.

We are trying to make it to every Disney restaurant at least once. We've been to quite a few - some multiple times - but we have many left, too. That's a fun mission to be on.

We hope you are not without power for very long, if at all.

Let me start by saying that the photo of Bella just relaxing in the pool in her life jacket with a huge smile on her face, is honestly one of the sweetest, cutest things I've ever seen! That is pure, Hakuna Matata relaxtion! I love it!

And the pictures of Brooklyn at Garden Grill are super cute too! It certainly looks like she had a blast there! I would love to try Garden Grill sometimes. The idea of a moving restaurant amazes me too! I bet sooner or later Bella will warm up to the characters and have just as much fun with them as her big sister!

On a sad note, I am so sorry to hear about Crew. That is just so sad....his family must absolutely devastated. I'll be thinking of and keeping his family in my prayers. It just seems like there has been so much loss and heartbreak this week...it's nice that we have the Dis to come to and Dis-friends to lean on. I hope the weather is clearing up for everyone dealing with Irene as well.

Bella thought she was big stuff getting a lifejacket like Brooklynn.

It is very nice to have DIS friends to share good time and bad with.

Everything's okay here right now. It's just raining. It's not supposed to get bad until morning. My grandma(who lives in town) is staying here overnight and until things die down tomorrow night. In her neighborhood she can't get water when the power goes out. We just figured she'd be better off over here and now we won't be worrying about her if the phones go out. I'll keep you updated tomorrow. I'm keeping my phone plugged in all day tomorrow so it'll be fully charged if/when the power goes out.

The storm is coming in at high tide. I saw a picture of one of the roads that's right on the water and the water level is all the way up to the road already. It's gonna be a mess tomorrow. We're gonna have a lot of flooded streets. I don't think they did any mandatory evacuations but they recommended it for some people. My neighborhood would only be evacuated if it was a category 4 hurricane.

I am glad your grandma is with you. I'm sure all of you feel better about her being close at hand.

I haven't turned on the TV to check on the latest yet. I am about to go do that. Stay safe, and keep us updated. Hopefully, it won't be as bad anywhere as anyone thought it might be.

Bella is too funny with those characters!! I love how she's eyeing them all around the restaurant. I'd imagine that a moving restaurant is pretty crazy to a 5 year old, definitely not something you see every day!

Weather update: it has been heavily raining and extremely windy here since around 1 or so. I think it's supposed to be like this until around noon, with less torrential conditions after that. Amazingly, the power here is still on (it shut off for maybe 5 minutes around 4:30, but came right back). Hopefully it stays that way!

I will check in here as soon as I get back from church to see how you are making it.

Bella is really interested in the characters from a safe distance, but the closer they get, the less interesting they become.

 

[momof2TNboys]

I have already posted on Jackie's wall, but I want to say again how sad I am about the news. She has been on my mind often these last few days. I am heartbroken for her family. I am saddened by the death of Crew also. I cannot imagine what it is like to lose a child. My mom lost my brother and still struggles with it.
I have been keeping up with the weather. I hope everyone is safe still. 10 deaths so far. It is awful. Keep us updated everyone!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Thank you, everyone.

What a happy update, MeMom! Loved seeing the girls' big smiles at the pool, and Bella cracks me up with the way she watches the characters approach and then scurries to safety.

 

[DWGal210]

Garden Grill looks very fun! I've not been there before, I'll have to add it to my growing list!

I bet the girls were wondering why the heck the view was changing!!

I'm watching Irene coverage on the Today show; I'm glad they're bringing us the news but good grief - do those poor guys & gals need to be RIGHT next to the water?! Scary!

 

[Mic_n_Min]

Thanks for the pics of the Garden Grill! What fun to see the pics of what you get to see when the restaurant rotates! Something I've never been able to see, yet I've read and have seen dozens of reviews of the GG! You're awesome as usual, MeMom!

Sorry to hear that Marc's surgery was postponed this weekend and now both him and Anita are sick. Continued prayers for the two of them.

I hope everyone continues to stay safe if you are still in the path of what's left of Irene! Please be careful!