Our 15 day summer adventure to WDW! NEW TR LINK 11/6 pg. 49!!

[momtoBrandon&Jacob]

Great TR Diane! I have 2 boys too and they love Donald as well so it's really fun reading your report. BTW, looks like we're (kind of) neighbors .

 

[mylag1rl]

Great update ! I love the family photo of the boys in the Donald shirt and you in the Daisy shirt ... cute idea. Brian a fugitive in AK ... that is great.

I totally agree about the check in lines. I usually go wait in the line and send my husband and boys someplace to sit down. What are people thinking !

 

[Trentmom]

Great Update

Glad that lady came by to rescue you all waiting to get into Tusker House

Love the boy's donald shirts. they are cute

Eric's reaction to Goofy's thump is great.....too cute

That pic with Eric standing in front of Bryan, is hilarious, making him look like he is wearing Donald's hat

 

[stace208]

Sounds like a fun, albeit wet, AK day! Again, we were at the same park as you but it stopped raining before we left the resort.

I love your matching shirts! Too funny about your DH going under the rope-smart man!

Tusker House breakfast has now officially moved to the top of our must-do list!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[carissanboys]

I finally got a chance to read through everything. All I can say is you are braver people than me battling that heat! And wow girl! You have quite the man there chasing after all of those fastpasses!

You had the same thing that I did at Kona! I so love that bread! And I don't remember the kona cone being an option for my dessert - hmmmmm.

Can't wait for La Nouba!!

 

[dddisrunner]

GREAT update Diane, loved it! Man, that Bryan, WHAT A REBEL, Tim would totally respect that, I'll make sure he reads that update : ) Loved Eric's expression with Donald liking his picture, so precious and the picture of him after the Goofy thump was great too. Sorry EE made you sick, I feel the same way on that sometimes (I think we talked about that though). Great update, can't wait to read your LaNouba part.
Lesley

Thanks Lesley! Bryan was quite the rebel this trip...stay tuned for more!

That was ridiculous for the CM to stop checking off the names!!!

Glad you enjoyed your breakfast at Tusker House! I about died laughing over the shot you got with Bryan and his mouth crammed full of fruit (?). I bet he loves you sharing that one!

Bryan the Disney lawbreaker!!! Too funny!

I can totally sympathize with the heat element -- I think it is always worse at Animal Kingdom!

That CM was SO ridiculous! Bryan was a little nervous once I told him what had transpired! Bryan was NOT happy when he saw I posted that food shoveling picture!

I remember this morning. The rain actually made it feel cool at first, then the humidity hit! I love Everest but I can not ride it twice in a row. Kali was a perfect cool off for the heat that day. We made the mistake of eating lunch at Pizzafari, the air wasn't working and my sister made that point over and over.

Eric's reactions are so cute! I miss my kids being that young, enjoy it to the fullest.

Ready for the next update.

It was SO GROSS this day wasn't it! Bummer about no air at pizzafari!

Hi Diane,
Great update. Tusker House breakfast is excellent isn't it? I agree the characters are fast and furious . Nice shirt BTW. Laughing about Bryan sneaking under the rope and beating you to Dinosaur, good job. Youall got soaked on Kali. Looked like a great day so far. Looking forward to hearing about La Nouba.

Hi Nichole! Thanks, I LOVE that Daisy shirt!! Bryan was quite the risk taker!

Loving your trip report! We're staying at Saratoga in 3 short weeks for the first time & have requested Grandstands area as well - I hope we get it! We also have ADR's at Tusker House for the first time this trip - happy to hear a good review on it! Can't wait to hear more!

Thanks so much!! I hope you Grandstand, it is a GREAT location!

Diane, I spent a bit trying to remember that rain... gosh I forgot it was raining that morning! I want to hit Tusker House again, but that was a bummer about getting in so slowly....I totally agree about the crazy check in lines! Fun times!

Thanks Laura!

Ha ha! Love Eric's reaction to Goofy coming back to him!!!

I can't believe Bryan tucked under the rope! LOL What a daring daring man you have there!

I cannot believe Matthew found someone from his class! Us Jersey and Pennsylvania people almost always run into someone we know down there, don't we??!!

It was so strange when Matthew ran into his friend, they knew each other would be there but the odds weren't great, he was so happy!

Grat trip report. Don't you just LOVE tattletales!

Thanks! Yeah, tattletale STINK!!

LOL about Bryan!!!!!!!!!

Thanks Jeanine, we still laugh about that!

Another excellent review Diane!!! I am kicking myself that we never made ADR's for Tusker House, all the reviews that I've read have been great!!

Eric is killing me These are times you will look back on and love The bird story made me laugh so hard my coffee came out of my nose Torturing our children is all part of being a parent, my dd is 16 turning 17 in October and I still torment her, it's sport for me

I am glad I am not the only one that sometimes "tortures"! Sorry about your coffee!

Love the Tusker House review, we can't wait to go there in Sept! How sneaky going under the rope - I can't believe someone told on him though! I bet she was a tattletale in elementary school too. You are so quick with the updates - love that!!

This made me laugh out loud! But you are right she has probably always been a tattletale!

Great TR Diane! I have 2 boys too and they love Donald as well so it's really fun reading your report. BTW, looks like we're (kind of) neighbors .

Hi neighbor!! Thanks for joining us and WELCOME!!

Great update ! I love the family photo of the boys in the Donald shirt and you in the Daisy shirt ... cute idea. Brian a fugitive in AK ... that is great.

I totally agree about the check in lines. I usually go wait in the line and send my husband and boys someplace to sit down. What are people thinking !

Thanks so much!

Great Update

Glad that lady came by to rescue you all waiting to get into Tusker House

Love the boy's donald shirts. they are cute

Eric's reaction to Goofy's thump is great.....too cute

That pic with Eric standing in front of Bryan, is hilarious, making him look like he is wearing Donald's hat

Thanks Kelly! I LOVE that picture of Eric too!

Sounds like a fun, albeit wet, AK day! Again, we were at the same park as you but it stopped raining before we left the resort.

I love your matching shirts! Too funny about your DH going under the rope-smart man!

Tusker House breakfast has now officially moved to the top of our must-do list!

Can't wait to read more!

Thanks! You should definitely try Tusker House, the food is GREAT...just tricky getting in!

I finally got a chance to read through everything. All I can say is you are braver people than me battling that heat! And wow girl! You have quite the man there chasing after all of those fastpasses!

You had the same thing that I did at Kona! I so love that bread! And I don't remember the kona cone being an option for my dessert - hmmmmm.

Can't wait for La Nouba!!

Thanks Carissa! The heat was bad but at least there were little reprieves!!

 

[tmkinney]

Great update. Love all your matching shirts. So funny about Goofy coming back to thump Matthew.

 

[dddisrunner]

We left off with us leaving the Animal Kingdom after a rainy, then VERY hot and humid morning! After we got off the bus at Saratoga, we headed to the Artists Palette for some lunch!

The decor is very pretty, but the restaurant is not nearly big enough for the enormous size of SSR!

I don't remember what everyone else ate, but I had the roast beef and bleu cheese sandwich and it was delicious!!

The boys eating!

After we finished, we walked around the lobby and right outside and took some pictures!

The Spa entrance...

A view looking outover the main pool!

Then the boys asked if we could see if their t-shirts had arrived that they had designed the day before. We checked and sure enough they had!

Matthew's...

Eric's...

They came in these cute little bags!

After getting the shirts, we headed back to the Grandstand to change into our suits for some pooltime, taking these pictures along the way! Saratoga really is a beautiful resort, it is just very big and spread out but the grounds are gorgeous and very serene!

This is a pilar that sits in a courtyard where the elevators are...

The detail in the walkway railings!

The view from our balcony looking to the right....

We quickly changed and went down to the Grandstand pool!

After about an hour, it was time to go back upstairs and ahower and relax because we had a long/late night ahead of us!


continued in next post!

 

[dddisrunner]

After we all showered and took a little nap, it was time to head out for dinner at 50's Prime Time at DHS!! We were all looking forward to this, as we had never been but heard/read LOTS of stories!

As we left Saratoga, I took this picture of the entrance!

Bryan and Matt on the bus..

We arrived about 45 minutes before our ressie time so we decided to hit The Great Movie Ride!

This is funny because everyone always says Bryan's mom looks like Barbara Walters, so he posed next to her likeness!

Then we went over near American Idol and browsed in the shop...

We decided to head over t 50's and check in!

I kid you not, the minute we walked in to check in, the sky opened up and it started POURING!!!! We were very lucky to find a couch to sit on and we waited about 25 minutes for a table but we didn't mind because of the weather! I took some pictures....

The boys got such a kick out of the nerdy guy that was calling families to the front! We were seated and Patty was our server and she was GREAT!!

We didn't get a TV table and I was kind of disappointed but it didn't end up being a big deal because everyone in our room was SO FUN!!

Patty took our orders and called Eric Scooter and Matthew Skippy
then she brought over the items to set the table and told the boys to set it!

Eric threw my utensils across the table so when Patty came back, I told her and she said "Mom, what have I told you about tattling!" TOO FUNNY! The boys laughed SO HARD at that!!

The nerdy guy came by and posed with the boys!

I had the ceasar salad appetizer and it was good!

Bryan had the shrimp cocktail and really enjoyed it!

I had pot roast for my entree and it was SO GOOD!!

Bryan had the salmon, which I was nervous for him about but he said it was really good!!

For dessert, I had the brownie, caramel, ice cream thing!

Bryan had sugar free cheesecake which he said was quite tasty!

It was a GREAT meal! The couple seated next to us were on their honeymoon so Patty made them get up and thank everyone for coming to celebrate with them, it was GREAT!!!

So with our bellies full, we headed out and the rain had STOPPED! We missed it and I was so happy! We then took a few pictures and headed out for a Downtown Disney Bus!

So once we get outside we realize there is NO DTD bus from the parks!!!! So we decided to take a cab over to La Nouba! There was a sign that said taxi's and parking lot go in this certain direction so we followed the signs and then were told to get on the tram, but we saw taxis parked literally 10 FEET from where we were standing but were told to get on the tramcar...OK! So we do and the tramcar makes a complete loop and drops us off where we got on!! DUH!!! We were thinking "well that was a fun jaunt around the parking lot!" Bryan finds us a taxi and we hop in off to the West Side and La Nouba! I was so excited because I had wanted to see this FOREVER! We arrive at the West Side and the fare was $8 not too bad. Bryan only had a twenty dollar bill, so he asked for 10 dollars back thinking it would be easy to do...WELL the taxi driver runs off with our money yelling at the other taxis in some foreign language and he went FAR! Bryn starts chasing after him and he finally stopped and banged on another taxis window and asked him for change! We finally got our change and went to the will call booth but that whole incident was so STRANGE!!

We go over to will call and pick up our tickets!! We still had about 40 minutes until showtime, so we took some pictures!

A happy Eric waiting to be let in!

Finally we are let in! We find our seats and then I rushed off to get drinks/snacks! WOW was it expensive!

Bryan takes out the camera to take a picture of the boys and I, well we thought Disney's Animal Kingdom security had finally caught up to him because this worker comes FLYING out of nowhere and starts waving his hand in front of Bryan's face a saying there is NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY, DO YOU HEAR ME, NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY! We were so stunned at that so then Matthew says GEEZ there is some crazy security here! Then this is when it happened, one of the FUNNIEST moments of the trip...........




STONE COLD SERIOUS, Eric then states "Well you know Matthew, ever since Abe Lincoln was shot there has been TIGHT security in theaters!!!!!!!" We FELL OFF our chairs laughing and the man behind us was laughing so hard, he choked on his popcorn!!! TOO FUNNY!

The show was INCREDIBLE and the boys LOVED it! It didn't start until 9 so they were a little tired at the end but they thought it was so cool and they were very well behaved! I was SO impressed with all of the talent and choreography, it was different then anything I had ever seen before! That being said, we received a 30% DVC discount on the tickets which made it a little more affordable, had they been full price, we wouldn't have gone. We really enjoyed it though, even Bryan!

Once the show was over, we finally found the boat that goes back to Pleasure Island, then learned we can get a boat to Saratoga from there! It was a beautiful night and we all enjoyed the boat ride back!


continued, too many pictures!

 

[dddisrunner]

I took a few pictures on the boat ride back!

This is the new "characters in flight" hot air balloon!

Once we arrived back at Saratoga, we went to sleep pretty quick because it was late and we were FINALLY headed to the Magic Kingdom the next morning!


Coming up! We finally step foot in the Magic Kingdom and some new dining experiences!!

 

[kaysmommie]

Great update. Looks like you had fun at 50's PT. It's Kaylee's favorite. Wow what a crazy cab ride and then the "no flash photography" guy. This night is sounding a little rough until Eric's comment . glad you loved the show. We are dying to go, but like you said it's expensive and we never find time to fit it in. But we will soon.

 

[Happydog]

Great update! Glad you had a fun time at the 50s primetime! That was a good choice for us, too... We had a silly waiter. La Nouba seems like it was a memorable evening for you all! Looking forward to the MK day!!!

 

[purplepeg]

OMG, I just about bust a gut laughing at the kids and AbeThat is the funniest thing I think I have ever heardYou just made my whole night

 

[bballbabe]

Love the Abe Lincoln comment. Where do kids come up with these things.

 

[Charleston Princess]

The boys' shirts turned out so cute! Do you happen to remember how much it cost to do that?

50's looks like so much fun -- one day I hope to convince Charles to do it.

La Nouba sounds great -- I LOVED Matthew's comment about security! That's classic!

 

[pmama]

Good to know taxi service was so reasonable from HS-DTD. Also tip to have the right change for Taxi driver.

 

[Queenofallthings]

I just got in from driving with my DD (she is gearing up to get her license, god help us all) and I had a message from Purplepeg. She said, when you get home, log in, Diane's last installment is going to crack you up

I guilted DD into doing the supper dishes that we left so we could drive in daylight, and I promptly logged in as instructed....I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard.....Eric will be the entertainment section of your TR, I see it all in the cards

 

[arizonacolbys]

Another great update! Loved the pics of the Grandstand pool area - I had no idea there was another water/spraypark area right there for kids - that's great!

 

[stace208]

Great update!

Matthew's comment about Abe Lincoln was fall on the floor funny! Kids and the things that stick in their mind.

I really liked how their shirts turned out. I will make sure we do that next trip!

Looking forward to MK!

 

[Trentmom]

Glad you had a good waitress at Prime Time. They can make or break your experience there

That nerdy guy looked hilarious


Probably not funny at the time, but picturing you get on tram, go in a loop and get dropped off right where you were is making me laugh..sorry

Cab driver sounded crazy and then the flash photography guy....

wow...crazies were out in full force tonight

What Eric said was hilarious

LA Nouba sounds great


Sounds like you had a great day