MNSSHP pg. 3 w/ pics...Oct. 2010, 2nd trip to Universal! 1st trip was 7 years ago!

[strawberryblonde]

Wed. 10/20/10 - HHN

My DH and I did Horror nights on Wed. night. We bought internet for the room, for the kids to use that night. My DS mainly used it, and he gamed all night. DD watched a lot of animal planet and read one of her many books she brought along on the trip. When DD got online to play clubpenguin, DS would read his book. We ordered them room service pizza and I signed for it before we left. I added a $5 tip not realizing that a 22% tip had already been added, plus a service charge....I think the tips and charges were more than the pizza

My DH and I did stay and scream, making sure to be in the Studios by 4pm. We rode the Mummy and then had an early light dinner at Finnegans and a couple of drinks. These are the best drinks I had all week, the only ones that did not scrimp on the alcohol....some kind of rumrunner type drink, can't remember the name....good! I bought a witchy-poo type hat and wore it at first, but it hindered me seeing everything, so I was mainly carrying it by the end of the night. We got the drink of the night in the flashy cup. We shared, which worked out best, so that you could finish off a drink before the next house. We saw both shows, did all houses once and all scare zones.

We had already settled the bill at Finnegans, when I saw that some folks were making for the door. I told DH that it would be soon, let's go! He said "but they told me they won't let us loose until 6:15pm"....and tried to explain that they usually release earlier than that, but don't promise to. I got him on the street where a big crowd was gathering, but as DH didn't see things happening right that very second, he went to the restroom. 30 seconds later, they released the crowd, and I had to watch as they all streamed past me.....it was hard.

DH came out a few minutes later, and we got in line for LT before about 1/3 of the crowd, but we had over a 20 minute wait. I debated using our express for this, but didn't know if the lines would be much longer, later, and i had read to not use your express early on....so we waited in line. This was our second longest wait of the entire evening. We also were not impressed with this house, so we did not use our express later to do it again.

Psychoscarapy had a long line by the time we came out of LT, so we passed it and got into Hades with less than 5 min. wait in the reg. line. We never did come back to use our express here, though....mainly because I was pooped out by the end of the evening, still jetlagged. DH liked Hades quite a a bit. I think his fav, though, was Havoc.

We got a few refills in our flashy cup through the night. We picked up a late bite at the Monster Cafe. Wish it had been open during the day, the kids would have loved this place! I really liked it.

Our last house of the night was my fav, Horror Nights. The express pass for this line, though, was a joke. Over 50 people from the reg. line streamed past as the employee scanned in the couple in front of us....so many more reg. folks filed on by while he slowly scanned us that you could not see the couple that had been right in front of us. We waited over 20 min. after the lines merged....our longest wait of the night. It may have been 1/2 hour, I didn't have a watch and my DH didn't want to tell me the actual time and upset me. I DID enjoy this house, though, it was great. I got many scares which were very few this night.

Here I am inspecting the rats...my DD has two pet rats and I knew she would want to know about these rats...where they cute? how big were they? are they happy and being treated well?

We had fun going to this, mainly because we needed a date night as a couple, and it felt "adult". I enjoyed the scare zones from 2006 a lot more, those scared me. We only made it to one house that year, though, because we were with my BIL and he didn't want to wait in line for houses. I had a lot more fun and scares in just the scare zones that year, than I did doing everything this year....ah well. My DH went to HHN in 2003, when it was at IOA, and that was his very fav. He still talks about the foam in one of the scare zones.

 

[strawberryblonde]

Thurs. 10/21/10 was our SeaWorld day. We took the free shuttle from HRH to the park and got there around 10:30am. We went directly to the Manta coaster and I was expecting to leave our water bottle and my purse with DD, as I didn't expect her to want to ride a looping coaster. Well......She DID want to ride!! I couldn't believe how brave she was being. She had looked at the track and decided that the dips didn't look bad and she thought she should try it....it was now or never! I had mentioned to her in the past that suspension coasters feel the least scary to me, they feel like flying which feels safer, somehow. She wanted to give this "hanging" coaster a try.

We liked the decor of the queue area. The rays made for great viewing and our 20 min. wait flew by. We were allowed to wait for the front row and it was fantastic. The harnesses are by far the most comfortable I've experienced and they made DD feel safe and secure. She was squeeling with pleasure during the entire ride and she was so proud of herself for going on it. We got right back in line to do it again, and had to wait 1/2 hour this time. We also did not try for the front row, we just went where they asked us to. This was also enjoyable, but we all prefered the front row.

We had not planned on seeing the dolphin show. DD does not approve of dolphins doing tricks for humans, nor their captivity. We were told that they have added many human elements to the show, and that the human tricks actually make up more than half of the show now. She decided to give it a go, but did not clap while the dolphins were in the front tank, because she did not want to add to their stress. She did clap loudly for the humans, they were great!! Amazing diving and ariel work. We loved their costumes, everything was so colorful. I'm pleased to see that dolphins are no longer being asked to jump through way high hoops, ect. The far-out stunts are now being done by humans and I approve of this change (I'm remembering shows from quite some years ago...).

DD and I brought food bars, water bottles, sandwiches and apples to eat throughout the day. She did not want to give SeaWorld money. Our tickets for the day were free. DS and DH, however, wanted to try the all you can eat option that was $5 off this fall.....Just $25 for each of them. And eat they did! Some of the food was just so-so, but some they thought was really good. My DS loved the veggie burgers, he had two of them. I can't remember what my DH liked, he had a few winners. The pizza, was not a hit, though, neither liked it. They didn't like the cookies, but enjoyed two kinds of cake. They found the salads fresh as well as the strawberries.

Normally, I would not have been happy about so much of our day being taken up with them eating. But as we weren't trying to see most of the shows, it wasn't a problem. Seaworld is a very beautiful park. It is lovely to sit outside in the shade and just take it in. The plants are gorgeous and I liked the lake area and little fountain show. We wandered through the manatee rescue area. As far as I know, SeaWorld does release the manatees once they are well....there are always new manatees being hurt by boats needing help. I may be wrong on this, but thinking these manatees are not being captive forever helped us really enjoy this exhibit.

We took in the sea lion show, and I think the kids enjoyed it. It was my fav when I was a kid (at the SanDiego park). We missed Alure, and it was the number one show we wanted to see (well, at least for DD and me). It was a slow day, in off season, so it only went twice and we missed it somehow, can't remember why now. We had enjoyed the acrobats in the dolphin show, though, so we weren't crushed.

We also visited the penguins but DD felt sad for them....she was certain that they were not happy because of the movie "Happy Feet" and she may be right.

DH, DS and I rode Kraken and Atlantis, but DD decided not to. They both scared her for different reasons. I'm sorry that she missed the magical seahorse in Atlantis, I think she would have enjoyed him. There was barely any line at either ride.

We went back to Manta and rode two more times...so 4 times in all! It is our fav coaster to date. We loved it!

We took the free shuttle back to HRH and DH was saying that he would not have minded spending another day at SeaWorld, he really liked that park. I did some laundry while DH and DS went to spend some time in the lobby with their laptop. The machines seemed a bit on the older side, but they did a good job and the change machine had enough quarters for me, so I was pleased. $2 to wash and $2 to dry. I used Purex all in one sheets and a stain stick on stains that I had brought from home....these worked well. My DH really likes the lobby here at the HRH!!

 

[strawberryblonde]

Friday, 10/22/10 - felt like the most crowded day of the week at IOA, mainly because we were not expecting it like you do on Sat. WWOHP was packed early in the day, I'm very glad that we used early entry here one last time to enjoy this amazing land.

Because DD had liked Manta so much, I was quite sure that she would enjoy the dragon coasters. All 4 of us went front row of Fire first, and then front row of Ice. She loved them! Ice was her favorite, so we went on Ice again, but from the 4th row as the line for front row had become quite a bit longer. DH, DS and DD all prefer Ice, but Fire is my fav...I lose my tummy on that one more. I do like nearly running into the wall on Ice though, very cool! Very exciting, finally being able to ride coasters as a complete family .

Even though the line for FJ was out onto the bridge, we were able to ride in under 10 min. by using the single riders line. Time posted was already 75min. Universal did a fantastic job with this ride!

We bought a frozen butterbeer at HogsHead Tavern to share. We had been buying reg. all week, but we were in the mood for frozen again this day. It hit the spot so well I got right back in line to buy one more just for myself, leaving the boys to share the first one . The line was not long in the Tavern, but the cart lines out in the sun looked miserable.

We enjoyed ourselves in IOA for most of the day, only visiting the Studios for a couple of hours mid day.

DD was the only one if our family who did not enjoy butterbeer, she doesn't care for soda pop is why. An employee let her try a taste of the sour apple goose juice, and she loved it! So we bought her a glass of it and she enjoyed at least half of it before getting tired of it.

IOA was open until 8pm tonight, so we went back to the dragons around 7pm thinking we would find virtually no lines and be able to just walk on. They had reduced down to just one train per track, though, instead of the 3 trains per track they had been running earlier, so it actually made it a longer wait than if we had gone earlier in the day when the crowds were thicker.

It took nearly an hour to ride it once, but I was glad that DD got to ride it in the dark. As we came out into WWOHP, we noticed all of these round tables set out in the street with black tableclothes....it looked very magical at night! What a great place for a party .

We walked back to the HRH after 8pm and the kids were beat, they just wanted to kick back and relax in the room. I wanted to visit the Portifino resort, I hadn't seen it yet. I talked my DH into coming with me and we walked over, it is a lovely walk at night. The view of the boats on the water, with the night lighting, did remind me of Italy. DH really liked the look of the bar and was tempted for us to sit and have a few. I was too tired, though, and knew a drink would knock me out. We settled for some gellato instead . I had mango and DH had caramel. We ate them while walking back to the HRH. PBR is nice, but HRH is my fav. I would choose HRH again in a heartbeat! DH loved HRH's lobby, he really enjoyed how relaxed he felt in it. We bought a pink HRH robe for me and a black one for him. These are so plush and comfy, I completely love mine. It is going to keep me warm this winter.

 

[LUVIOA]

Loving every minute of this trip report. I can't wait to go back

 

[strawberryblonde]

Sat. 10/23/10 - Last day at HRH

We slept in and then packed, checking out by 11am. HRH held our luggage for us, while we went into the parks one last time to do a few favs. I had a veggie sandwich with avacado at the bakery in the Studios, it was very good! It came with homemade potato salad that I liked, I usually only like my own. Wish I had tried out this place sooner!

DD wanted to see the Barney show, for old time's sake. She had loved this show at 3 years old, her first and last trip to Universal and he still has vague memories of it....mainly the falling water that looks like rain. She and I also wanted to ride ET one more time. We rode it once earlier in the week and had been put toward the back of the bikes and she was on the right side and didn't see much. The boys did not want to do ET again, nor Barney even once. So we split so they could do the Mummy and MIB. Our plan was to meet up at the Simpsons.

DD and I were able to squeeze in ET before the Barney show....express really helped here! We asked if we could please wait for a front bike, and it wasn't a problem. The employee advised me to put DD on the left side so she could see the most of all. DD really enjoyed this ride. She saw much more than she had the first time through and got more of the sensation of flying. Her 3 year old memory of this ride is your shadows across the moon.

Next was Barney, and we felt a bit old, but who cares?! It wasn't a large crowd at all, and we were able to sit on a second row bench with no one in front or behind us...I felt better about not blocking anyone's view. DD had fun trying to see if there were any show elements she could remember. She only has vague snatches from that trip, but they are happy ones.

It was quite hot while waiting outside of the Simpsons....we were thankful to be able to get free icewater from the food stand. Such a nice thing for Universal to offer.

We walked back to HRH that afternoon and called for a cab. We sat watching the fountain out front while waiting.

We took the cab directly to Beuna Vista Palace, in Downtown Disney. We checked in and our room was ready, on the 8th floor of the shorter tower. Entering the room felt like a let down after the HRH. BVP is an older hotel, though, so the bathroom/closet/vanity/entryway area is very cramped. The sitting area was quite large and we had a small balcony with a VIEW!!! I could see spaceship earth at Epcot so I guessed we would be able to see Epcot's fireworks from our balcony. There was a musty smell in the room and there is not good ventilation in the bathroom. The beds were amazing though, as were the pillows....more comfortable than at HRH! We unpacked and changed outfits for dinner at Bongos and Cirque show.

Even though we picked up our tickets at Cirque more than an hour sooner than the cutoff, our seats had already been resold. We were not told why nor did we ask because the ones we were moved to were even better! I have no idea how we got so lucky. The lady was very smooth about it too, showing us our new seat assignments before mentioning that our original ones were gone....our feathers didn't even have a chance to get ruffled.

How fun to be right in the center section! We had been just one section over orginally, and we had been happy with those, but this was nicer. The "pre-show" (two clowns with packages) was about halfway over, when a family with many children showed up in the row behind us. It seemed like extended family, many cousins, because the children where many and close in ages. Three boys of about my DD's age, I'd guess 9-10 years old, were sitting directly behind my chair. The one with the loudest mouth, was kicking my seat, and would not stop, even when I asked him to nicely. He had a cough with a rattle and did not cover his mouth. He and his cousins were making fun of the clowns, loudly, saying how unfunny they were and other neg. comments.

I did not want to let this ruin the show for me and I hoped that they would quiet down once the real show began. I explained to the boy as nicely as I could, that it hurt my back when he kicked my seat. I think he wasn't doing it to be naughty, he just wasn't thinking about it and no parent was around to tell him not to. I finally put my hands behind my seat to cushion against his shoes, and that seemed to help remind him. Once the show started, they commented a bit less, but their comments became a bit more inappropriate. Like when the tightrope walkers were out and they all began to chant "FALL, FALL, FALL, FALL!!!"....this is when all of the adults in the area began to glare at these children.

My kids DID love the show. DS remembered the trampoline bit from 7 years ago. My DD has no memory of seeing it at 3, but she adored it this time around. She clapped and squeeled for the little girls with spools the loudest of all....but then, everyone loves them! As we were leaving, DD says "perhaps those weren't such great seats afterall", meaning that she would have rather been in less ideal viewing conditions to get away from those boys. I agree, but life is random that way. It was still a good show.

We walked back to our room at BVP and I fell quickly asleep on those delicious beds....so worn out!

 

[strawberryblonde]

Loving every minute of this trip report. I can't wait to go back

Oh thank-you!! I was starting to get afraid that I may be just talking to myself here

 

[strawberryblonde]

Sunday, 10/24/10

Gorgeous day!!

This is the day my DS has been waiting for, the day he gets to spend the entire day at DisneyQuest. DH is going to spend it with him and I think he is excited about it too. They both loved this place 4 years ago.

Meanwhile, in the last 24 hours a miracle happened. My estranged (for over 10 years) baby sister has agreed to visit me today and bring her two children that I have never met. It took her over 2 hours to drive to us, so the boys waited to go to DQ so they could meet them and spend a bit of time with them. I took a few shots of the cousins all together and DS spent some time talking with my nephew who is 5, 8 years younger than DS. DD and my niece are just 2 years apart and they took to each other right away....like two peas in a pod

The young ones were eager to get to the pool so we put sunscreen on everyone and they changed into swimsuits. DH and DS hugged everyone goodbye and took off for DQ, while we hightailed it to the pool. It was such a hot day, I believe it got into the 90's. The kids were in heaven and swam for hours. The nice thing about the pool at BVP is that half of it is under cover, so the kids can be in the shade some and not always in the direct mid day sun. The hot tub is also in the shade, and we all enjoyed it. There were not many people at the pool today, quite uncrowded. The girls enjoyed the deep end, 6 1/2 feet deep. Not many newer pools have water this deep anymore. I think HRH's pool is about 4 feet deep at its deepest. So even though BVP has a rather older style pool (no zero entry), it worked out well for our kids, but I can see how some may not like it.

I made PB and Jelly sandwiches for everyone and brought them down to the pool along with apples, pudding cups, tortilla chips and salsa. Swimming makes kids extra hungry and everyone ate this down like it was delicious....and it was such a simple lunch! My nephew and niece warmed up to me and DD right away....the pool was such a laidback and relaxing place to get acquainted .

That afternoon, we went back to the room and changed so that we could walk over to Downtown Disney. My plan was to let my niece and nephew build a dino at the T-rex restaurant as our gift to them. I wasn't sure if my niece, at 8, would feel too old for one, though, so I told her she could pick something else out of the shops if she wanted to. I had picked out a Disney pin from my collection, for each of them. I pinned them to their shirts and told them that they could trade them for another pin if they saw one they liked better, that it would not hurt my feelings because that is what Disney pins are for

The kids even enjoyed the walk over to DTD. DN8 and DD were holding hands, while DN5 pointed out the mickey head on the sewercap all excited

The first shop we went into, was the pin trading shop. I walked my DN5 over to a CM that was wearing a pin lanyard and showed him how to trade. He knew exactly what pin he wanted to trade for, Mickey mouse in an airplane. He wanted the new pin right on his shirt and he was very pleased. I then took DN8 by the hand over to a CM and helped her through her first trade. She picked Figaro the cat. We walked past Ghirardelli's and the kids got a chocolate sample. Then we went into the big World of Mickey store for the kids to pin trade if they wanted to and to get an idea of what they may like to pick out if they didn't want a dino. DN5 saw another pin he wanted to trade for, but he didn't want to give up his first pin, so I quickly gave him the pin I was wearing to use to trade (the pin I gave up was Pooh holding a pumpkin, and I never could find that pin again for the rest of the trip...ah well, it was worth it to see his face!). My DD
had 2 pins on her shirt and I asked if she would be willing to give one to DN8 so that things would be fair. She happily agreed. Good thing, DN8 never gave up the first pin she had traded for, Figaro, but traded the second pin many times over and enjoyed it so much. DN5 also never gave up the very first pin he traded for but traded his second pin many times over. I didn't realize how much they would enjoy this and I wished I had picked out more pins for them.

Now we made our way to T-rex and DN5 picked out his dino "skin" right away, there was no question about him wanting anything else but a dino! He picked a fluffy yellow/orange dino and he picked the roar for the sound.

DN5 holding "Dinosaur" before he picked out a tshirt for him
My DN8 was my thoughtful and took her time deciding. She choose a pink dino "skin" as was thrilled with her choice and never looked back. She chose for her dino to say "I love you".

DN8 holding "Pinky" before she picked out her pink tracksuit

The kids took a look around the restaraunt open mouthed, but the line-up and wait for a table was outrageous, it was very crowded this night. I'm not even sure if the kids realized that you could eat there....what they wanted to do was play in the "dig site"....so we let them! Next they played at the lego store and had a great time building cars to race. Meanwhile, they are carrying their dinos around in their cardboard houses which are adorable, a hole for the head and one for the tail!

Every place for dinner was so crowded, but we were served quite quickly at Wolfgang Puck Express (Marketplace location). The pizzas were very good and my sister seemed to enjoy her roasted chicken. By the time we were done with dinner, it was nearly DN5's bedtime. He is done by 8pm. Not cranky, just done. He is so very sweet. But as we are leaving, DN8 asks if it is possible to ride the Merry-go-round. I size up the line and can see that the kids will be able to get on the next ride. My sister gives permission and I'm able to get tokens in time to get the 3 kids on the next ride. DD hadn't needed to ride, but DN8 wanted her to, so she did. DN5 perked up and enjoyed his ride. It was a great end to a fun day. We snapped one more picture before leaving, and DN5 didn't look up because he only had eyes for his "Dinosaur".

We walked back to the hotel and it was so fun and pleasant, I love FL weather! We helped gather up their things and then we were hugging/kissing and saying goodbye. I had slipped gas money to my sister, I had not wanted this trip to be a burden to them. She seemed honestly glad that they had come and said so. I'm hoping this has laid stepping stones for a reunion for her and her kids with our entire extended family. I'm pulling for next summer for at Grandma and Grandpa's. This entire situation chokes me up, but I am hopeful.

This visit made quite the impression on my DD. Her cousins had never seen Downtown Disney before and they only live a few hours away. They have never been to a Disney park either. I had thought about taking them to the park, but that had seemed too overwhelming for a first meeting with family. I so wished we had more days. I would have loved to have just spent a day riding the boats and monorails with them....that would have been more fun for DN5 than the parks! I'm really pleased with our day, I wouldn't change it, just wish I had had more days. Sometimes the greatest joys in life can be the little things, swimming in the pool, pin trading, playing in a "dig site", building with lego...

 

[strawberryblonde]

Monday, 10/25/10

This is the day I stayed in my plush pink HRH robe for half the day ....I was worn out!! I caught up online (free internet in the hotel room) with family emails and posted photos so my Mom, Dad, step-mom and middle sister could see the cousins together. I talked on the phone with them too. My baby sister and her kids were very much on my mind.

My DS discovered yesterday, that DQ is not as great as he remembered. He had enjoyed his day, but did not feel the need to upgrade his pass to go more days.

The kids and I ate cereal and fruit for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch out on our balcony. Then we went to the pool for a swim. My DH, meanwhile, was back at work, in uniform attending conference meetings all day.

That night was a conference ice-breaker dinner.

My DH took me and we rubbed elbows dutifully . We made it back to the room in time to see Epcot's fireworks from our balcony, we had a great view of them! Huge bonus was that we could see MK's wishes as well, at the same time

 

[strawberryblonde]

Tuesday, 10/26/10

The kids and I put on sunblock and then walked to the crossroads. They had one thing on their minds.....Taco Bell! I tried to point out Perkins, but Taco Bell is their very fav and they have missed it so living overseas (the one here on base has been closed for a year). So we ate a Taco Bell brunch and then went over to Goody's for some fresh fruit, bread and other goodies. I even picked up a 6 pack of beer and 6 pack of Mike's hard lemonaide....the fridge at BVP is big enough.

here we are carrying our cheaper goods back onto Disney property

Of course we had to hit the pool after that hot walk!

When DH got out of conference, we all walked over to DTD for dinner. The kids wanted to try T-rex but I was doubtful about the prices there. Ugg. T-rex menu, do not like. It seems way overpriced and the food is not up to par. I'm a bit on the frugal side, so I couldn't order anything. My DH ordered me a cottoncandytini, because the menu makes them look so cute. Here are the kids having some bites of the candy they pulled off before the drink was poured over it.

DD had a kids' pizza and DS had a veggie pasta that he gave me bites of, he really liked it. DH ordered the appetizer tower and he shared the bruschetta with me....that was yummy! The other appetizers were only so-so. If I ever end up at this place again, I'll just order the bruschetta.

DS snapped this pic of me and DH on our way home.

We got home in time for Epcot's fireworks again. MK's were 1/2 later, because of the Halloween party...so we saw Hallowishes from the outside and they looked amazing! Really looking forward to the party on Friday night

 

[strawberryblonde]

Wed. 10/27/10

Went to DTD to do a little pin trading. DD found a few cast lanyard pins from a series of 5....they are round with different colored mickey heads on them. She was on the hunt! For some reason, this series was hard to find...figures!

We then rode the bus to the Contemporary resort to look around. I have very fond memories of staying here back when the kids were younger. Two Dec. trips, '02 and '03, and two spring trips, one with each grandma. This was back when SOG was under reconstruction and they were putting us up in the North wing. The North wing is no more because of the BayLake Tower, kind of bittersweet for me. I love that location . We shopped (DD bought a hardback notebook for her poems and short stories) and pin traded (DD found another one of the mickey head pins!). They have a Vacation club desk there on level 4, so I set up an appointment for tomorrow, 9am, to see BayLake Tower. That is one location I would be interested in. The last time I was looking at DVC properties, they only had SSR available, and that location did not appeal to me near as much as this one.

We hopped on the monorail and visited the Poly. We looked at pins and in the shops. I have memories of swimming at the volcano pool when the contemporary pool was under construction...it was a legal pool hop, but a lot of hassle actually. We then took the little boat to the MK and I picked up our tickets for the friday MNSSHP. We hopped on the monorail again and went all the way to the Grand Floridian to look around, pin trade and shop. DH and I stayed here in a honeymoon suite the first night of our honeymoon. We haven't stayed here since though, it has not seemed as kid friendly. We tend to always have a character brunch here at 1900 Park Faire....tradition since our honeymoon. Mickey, Minnie and friends were there then. It has been Mary Poppins and friends since the kids were little though. We took the bus back to DTD.


Tonight we had dinner at Raglan Road. It wasn't my choice, my DH wanted to go. I feel like I get enough European food here and I was worried that the food there would be fatty and bland. Plus, I'm not into beer. Boy was I wrong!! I loved our meal here. The kids opted to stay behind, they were worn out from all of our walking in the heat today. They just wanted instant noodles and rest. We got to RR after 6pm right before the crowd of people did. Their live music starts at 7pm, so we knew we wanted to be seated before then. We were so lucky, we were given a tall table overlooking the center with a perfect view of the stage. No one in our way. There are many tables in this place from where you will not be able to see a thing and they were all packed with people within the hour. My DH had the soup and then some sort of ham dish (I think, not sure actually). He loved it. I had the most gorgeous salad....ever! Fresh leafy greens, walnuts and fresh raspberries in a vinaigrette dressing, served with berry compote and roasted feta....OMG!!! I ate every bite. Our server brought us whole grain bread, very dark and heavy, with a guinness reduction in oil (tasted sweet and very good) to dip it in. Very tasty. DH had a guinness beer from tap and then had a bottle of double chocolate stout....mainly because I had ordered a chocolate martini and I thought it would be cute to match

We enjoyed the live music and the dancing, amazing date . We left there and sadly gazed at what is left of our beloved Pleasure Island :. Such happy memories we made there on our honeymoon ('94) and date nights on other trips ('99, '03). So sad.

We picked up a double scoop icecream cone on the walk home from Ghirardelli's and shared that all the way back to BVP.

 

[strawberryblonde]

Thursday, 10/28/10

I had my DVC tour of BayLake Tower at 9am today. They were sending a van around 8:30-40am to pick me and the kids up. Such a gorgeous day, warm and sunny early! I enjoyed the tour, and loved BLT!! I like the set up of extra bathroom right off the entryway of the one bedroom units. My DS loved the oven and freezer.....visions of pizza danced in his head . We all thought the rooftop lounge was fab. One bedroom is the way to go at this resort, the studios were a bit funky (bathroom sink/vanity in the same room as mini kitchen....I imagine my hair in all the food! ick)

Trouble is when you crunch the numbers. You can't go by their "silly math". If I were going to buy into DVC, this would be the property I would buy. It is my favorite. I hope to someday be able to stay at this property and take my Mom or MIL.....they would both enjoy the view and location. I know they would, they liked the North wing so much, and this is quite a bit nicer.

We hopped on the monorail to GF and asked if they could fit us in for brunch at 1900 Park Faire....they could !! We were given a beeper and I don't believe we waited any longer than 20 min. to be paged. We were squeezed onto a table for two, but we didn't mind. The kids were not there so much for the characters as the food....the food is quite good for a buffet. The french toast was delicious, we all had a second piece. The fresh strawberries were ripe and tasty. I liked the strawberry soup. My DS liked the hashbrowns and had seconds of those.

The Mad Hatter came by, then Alice, then Mary Poppins....they were fine, but did not stand out. I'll never forget the Alice we had here back in 2003....she and Pooh were hysterical . We were a party of 5 adults and 6 kids having a late brunch. The restaurant was pretty empty by the time we were finishing up. Alice and Pooh "stole" the day bag off of my Mom's powerchair (she had a tank bathing suit for my 10 year old niece and swim trunks for my 6 year old nephew in there plus 2 squeezebreezes). Alice stepped into the trunks so they were around her knees and Pooh put his arms through the tank armholes so that the tank hung down in front of him and they chased each other around squirting each other with the squeezebreezes . I thought my Mom was going to die laughing, it was funnier than I can explain it, believe me. I had no idea character interaction could get that good! Mary Poppins came over and scolded the two of them and made them come over and apologize. Alice was great, she said sorry like she didn't really mean it, like she was being forced....priceless! Ah well....memories.

When Pooh showed up, well....we just all had to smile. Who can not smile at Pooh?! He brings out the kid in everyone I think.

Tigger came next and he was cute, but no Pooh. Pooh steals the show, he can't help it.

What a delicious brunch. We rolled out of there and took the monorail back to the contemporary so we could hunt for DD's pins. We found another! She now has 4 of the 5, just one left to find. We took the bus back to DTD and then looked for her pin there. We kept coming up dry. We even waited for the pin book that comes out at 2:30pm at the big World of Disney store. It didn't have anything great and didn't have the pin she was looking for, it had one of them that she already has. It was kind of fun to be on the hunt, have something to be looking for. I just hoped she would find it before we fly out on Sat.

Tonight was a formal awards dinner so I dolled myself up and put on my black cocktail dress. My DH looked so sharp in his Mess Dress. We meant to get a photo, I don't know how we forgot to do that....we may have been running a touch late.

 

[strawberryblonde]

Friday, 10/29/10....MNSSHP day!!!

Back before our vacation started, I had already sewn El-wire on my DD's costume and mine. The boys, however, had taken their sweet time in deciding if they wanted to wear their robes or just t-shirts to the party. So here I am, in the 11th hour, sewing and double stick taping El-wire onto both of their robes . The decision was to wear their t-shirts into the park until the sun went down, and then put on their robes. This plan actually worked out quite well. I put their robes into trick-or-treat bags for them to carry around at the park.

DH's conference was over around noon, which gave us plenty of time to get ready. I got everyone else ready first, saving myself for last. As I'm putting on my makeup and costume, DH is downing our last two Mike's hard lemonaids and last two beers "so that they don't go to waste". I don't realize this though. As I'm trying to get us out the door to leave, I can't figure it out why he is moving like a slug and I just can't motivate him. It didn't dawn on me that he was tipsy! We walk over to DTD and take the bus to the contemporary. On the bus, I smell his breath and ask how much he drank. DS pipes up "all of them, all 4!"....oh dear. When we get there, DH wants to use the restroom. No worries, there is one right off the lobby. DD and I start getting attention right away because we are already in costume. DD loves it. She especially likes it that many folks know that she is StrawberryShortcake. Much less realize that I am Blueberry Muffin, most likely because I do not have a huge, plastic blue hat on my head .

We do the short walk to MK and it is lovely. The weather has cooled off about 10 degrees today, it was in the 90's yesterday and only the 80's today.....we are so lucky! We enjoy looking at the bricks as we walk. We get to the gates and it is before 5pm, so we aren't too far off from my plan. I love the way the park looks decorated in orange, so festive.

DD was loving being in costume and the attention. She was not, however, liking to stop for photos. She also was starting to stress out about riding Space Mountain, worried that she might be scared.

I reminded her that she loved Space Mountain 2 years ago at Disneyland and they were very similiar. That there were no huge drops on SM, and that she was sure to love it. I believe we waited under 20 min. It wasn't until she was on the ride, squeeling with glee, that she relaxed. She still didn't want to stop for photos, but I had to have some! Add in here many stops at restrooms...sigh...don't let your man drink before your one night in Magic Kingdom, or you will spend your first few hours at the restrooms.

We did Monsters Inc laugh floor next (under 5 min. wait), we had never done this before, it must be within 4 years old. The kids enjoyed it. It was here that I noticed that my party wristband was missing. It must have come off on SM! While DH went to the restroom again, I got another band outside of Stitch Escape....and then we went into this attraction (got right in). I didn't remember getting sprayed by water so much. I've done this when it was Alien Encounter and I've done Mission to Mars (I think that is what it was called) at Disneyland. Funny to see all the ways this seating setup can be used.

We wandered into Fantasyland, which is nearly all boarded up at the moment. Snowwhite was under 5 min. wait, so we got on that. We haven't ridden in years, I think it used to scare the kids so we just got in the habit of skipping it. It was great fun riding it now and adding to the storyline ourselves

I pointed at Dumbo and batted my eyes, but I was outvoted. We made our way near the Haunted Mansion and located another restroom. It was getting dark enough, so we started putting the robes on the boys and cracking our glowsticks. A little girl noticed our glowsticks and her mom asked where we got them, so I clicked one on the girl's wrist and she seemed so pleased. We went through the treat line that was right there and then onto HM...we really glowed in there! A CM snapped our photo for us as we were exiting the ride.

We went through a few more treat lines and then we picked up some pizza from the pizza cart to eat while we waited for the parade. I prefer to view the parade from mainstreet sitting on the curb. My DH hates to wait, hates it. I happily can sit on the curb for an hour. So we compromise. We saved a place at the rope in Frontierland about 15 min. early.

The parade was fantastic! We all enjoyed it. We even got passed candy at the end because we were at the rope....little wrapped pumpkin chocolates. We recieved a bit of attention from the CMs doing crowd control and from characters in the parade...it was quite fun

We went on Pirates next and then looked at all the pirate things in the shop. Did some more treat lines and then made our way over to the hub for the fireworks. There was room to sit there on the hill of the hub and everyone in front of us stayed sitting....we had an amazing view. I've never viewed MK's fireworks from right in front of the castle before. The castle can block the middle of the fireworks. I've seen them from further back, though, and a lot of times from the sides where they are off center. It was total immersion from where we were, and the fireworks frame the castle beautifully. My guys enjoyed the music...it was a hit!

Now DH was hungry, again ....I don't get it. But off to Cosmic Rays for a veggie burger and fries for him. I took DD to Stitch's dance party and told the boys I would meet up with them at Cosmic Rays.

DD really got into the dancing...Stitch is her fav Disney character !!

We met up with the boys and decided to ride the people mover, we all like this ride, it is even better in the dark. Going through SM, we decide that we must come back for one last ride on SM. I pointed to the rockets, but was outvoted...I guess they aren't into those kind of rides anymore, sniff.

Next, we are off to ToonTown for a final walk through Mickey's and Minnie's houses.

We do the Alice trick-or-treat trail and our bags get quite full here. The trail spits us out near SM, as I had explained to my dear family, so we trotted through line for one last ride. Our first ride today was on the righthand side, our last ride tonight, was on the lefthand side, which we discovered is our fav side! There is a bigger dip on this side it seemed to us. Fun for all of us. We walk over to the castle to catch the last villian show of the night. The boys stand close while DD and I sit on the hub and we can see good enough for us...DD was getting tired and needed the rest. What I didn't realize is that I had the camera this entire time, I though DH had it....sorry DH! He would have liked a few photos from this show, but no biggie.

Our last thing we wanted to make sure to get in for the night, was Mickey's Philharmagic show. As we are fast walking past the dwarves, we notice they have a short line. The CM's try to direct us into the line, telling us we will be able to see them quite quickly. I ask if we would be able to make it to MP if we stop, and they admit we don't have time for both. So this was a tough choice. I would have loved a photo with all the dwarves. I've not tried for one, because DH would hate wasting that much party time to get one. Her was our chance to get one with nearly no wait. We had our hearts set on seeing MP, though, so off we went. I'm really glad we made the choice we did. It was a very "Mickey" end to our Disney day and set the perfect final note. We haven't seen this in 4 years, so it felt new to the kids...we all loved it!

As we exited, the park was closed and people were making their way out of the park. A CM offered to take our family photo for us, which was very thoughtful of him to do.