I'm still here, just quietly sitting back.
Michele -
Ok.
Oh, that would be just your luck to run into M and family during your Goofy's Kitchen excursion! Glad it didn't happen.
How nice of Laurie to treat you. That's too bad you couldn't taste anything. I HATE that.
There were some great character pictures captured at Goofy's! Especially the ones of Pluto in attack mode. I wonder what he was thinking when he did that? I wonder if he knows he had you bending so far over backwards?

Seeing those pictures reminded me of when my son's teacher's daughter (got that?) was Pluto at WDW a couple years ago and a guest tried to shove a camera down her throat. Seems like Pluto would have been the one bending over backward in that instance! Trying to get away from the guest.
I have no idea what that Christmas carol is. I thought, "I don't recognize that one" before reading that you wondered if anyone other than Molly might know what it was. I refrained myself from googling it. I did notice, however, that you slipped in one of my very favorites..."O Holy Night."
By the way, I still have another month before my trip. I actually wish time would slow down. We've been looking forward to this extended family trip for 2 years. I won't have anything to look forward to after it's over, as there most likely won't be another trip for a few more years. My sister (CB Jamboree) was there last week, texting me every chance she got. I was disappointed to learn that Carnation Cafe no longer offers the potato soup served in a bowl. Just a cup. When my sister asked Oscar why the bowl isn't as option anymore, he just said, "Well, the same amount fits in a cup."
Looking forward to hearing the final wrap-up!
deej -
I love "
O Holy Night" way too much to not toss it into this TR somewhere! Even if it's not relevant to anything, I had to throw it in.
An "M"-related sighting could have been very likely on that last day. Not only was her family staying at the DLH, but they also love Goofy's Kitchen. It was entirely possible that they may have ended up eating there again. We could have easily seen them on the way out. The only thing that, I think, saved me was that "M" and family take sooo long to get moving in the morning, so they may have still been up in their room.
You might as well Google the lyrics to that mysterious Christmas song - it may be another few weeks before Molly gets back here to (I assume) say that she recognizes it. It's not a 'real' Christmas carol, per se. It comes from one of the wonderful holiday movies I love (which everyone should see). Look it up!
It was very, very nice of Laurie to treat - well, first just to
offer to treat and then to actually keep her word and follow through with it (unlike other people

). Goofy's is not cheap, even with the AP discount.
I wish that I'd been able to treat Laurie, Molly and Liza to a meal, though...or at least a snack or a knick knack or something.
I remember you mentioning the teacher's daughter and Pluto. Some guests get too carried away with those poor characters! Good grief!
Aggressive Pluto at Goofy's Kitchen was interesting, that's for sure. I felt like I was bending backwards quite a bit - I'm glad it came across in the pictures! I'm not easily offended by that sort of character behavior, I suppose, but I can picture some extra litigious types of people filing complaints about Pluto scaring them or injuring their back or whatever. It was all in good fun, but it was just surprising. You can see that Pluto didn't leave Molly alone either!
Another month??!!! Why was I thinking that your Halloween Time trip was taking place in early October, the same time as Molly's? Clearly, I am getting old!
So, do you really think that you and your husband won't be able to sneak down to DLR for another quick holiday trip this year? Is there no chance of that happening after the big family Halloween trip? From what I've heard of this Halloween season's offerings so far, I actually think that the promise of a fully decorated Cars Land and Buena Vista Street during Christmas time this year may be the real jackpot. The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. It almost kind of seems like DLR is finding ways to keep scaling back the Halloween stuff (in small steps) - no floral masked bandit clown Mickey this year, for example - but that they will blow everyone away with some awesome Christmas decorations.
The loaded baked potato soup is now served in a cup at Carnation Cafe and not in the bowl? How odd. It was popular in the bowl. I'm glad to hear that Oscar is still there, though! That's good news! You were the one who first broke the news that Oscar may be retiring a while back, so I'm glad to hear that he is there.
I hope that the Carnation Cafe menu is a bit more like it used to be in the old days of the '90s, but I will have to see it for myself to determine if it compares.
ETA: It's the first day of Autumn! Hallelujah! The weather has not yet realized that Summer is gone, but it will catch up soon. The leaves on the trees are dead and ready to fall, and the early mornings are chilly and crisp. Some of the best sunsets seem to happen in the Fall, too.