Our 2006 Disney Adventures ~ NEW, 1/20 pg 13!

[lillygator]

Will post the rest this week! My doc is at work!!

 

[averill94]

looking forward to it!

 

[lillygator]

I promise to finish up 2006 before 2007 starts!!!

 

[PaulDavid's mom]

I promise to finish up 2006 before 2007 starts!!!

YAY!!!

 

[lillygator]

Friday May 19th ~ Hug Your Cat Day ~ National Bike to Work Day, um Bad Girls sweat, but not by biking! Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go everywhere.
- Mae West ~ hmmm, shouldn’t this be made into some sort of initiation ritual tattoo or something?

This is the view I awoke to in our “free” upgraded room……

So today was MK – aka Magic Kingdom day….does anyone agree this is the worst park to get to in not staying at a monorail resort or WL? Well, worst if you have two little ones and a stroller in tow. Today was going to be a test..a Tour Guide Mike test. Skeptic that I am, I joined…thinking that – hey for $20, even one tip is worth it….I printed out our plan of attack only to be “foiled” at the gates….of course we were there upon opening, rushing to be first (part of the “V” PLAN) – of course everyone on the DIS and TGM or any other planning/message board has the same idea……John yells – “V, shortest line” and as he is the holder of “all” including AP’s we line up waiting for him (sweet guy, going through bag check)….but – OH MY – we are short ONE AP~~~~~~~~~~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can feel the freakness coming on…I am wildly weird about things like this….seriously. I often wake in the night and have to search for things I think/know are lost…..thank goodness it was Charming’s AP….we could go without him…..OK, no we couldn’t. Well I could have…but would not tell him that.

Ya’ll better not either.

So off to Guest Services we head….which is on the OPPOSITE side than we are on. I miss the days when AP’s had you picture on them, were hard plastic and we had special lines simply for “us”….. Not that this would have helped in this situation but I do recall GS was on both sides (ends) of the turnstiles (and OPEN).

Well hello non friendly CM at MK’s GS…SHE WAS TERRIBLE…I mean terrible. She was questioning us like we were trying to get a free pass or use child credits for adults on the dining plan – basically she acted as though she did not believe Charming. Finally – after park opening – all Fast Passes handed out for the day – my tour totally derailed….we got a new pass and entered the Magic Kingdom. We never did (have) find the AP…last Charming used it was on the Soarin’ FP….we always get 3, so we ride more including a baby swap….it must have been stuck or he left it on top or something??? We still don’t know.

At last we are in….and to some degree I was a tad mixed up…our Epcot “Behind The Seeds Tour” and “Family Magic Tour” I had switched times….according to my plan I could gather in a few rides and then “tour”. And quite frankly that is what we did regardless of times…

RUDE ENCOUNTER OF THE DAY…..Princess Samantha and Charming ran off to Fantasyland, ok maybe Tomorrowland to ride rides…I took Princess Haley for her photo shoot in the “new” Tomorrowland Speedway Cars…..there was a dad with kids taking photos…ANYONE – who had a brain, could see or tell WE, me and Haley were waiting…..SOME DUMB A.. FAMILY WALKED UP AND JUMPED IN THE CAR….and were taking pictures like they did not NOTICE WE WERE STANDING THERE.

I usually don't but I had to.....I said, “you know, I have been coming here many years, I have been skipped or cut off in line, shoved, run over with strollers BUT I HAVE NEVER been so IN YOUR FACE RUDE as your FAMILY.” She and her DH fell over each other to take our pics and I said are you kidding? GO teach your two kids some other great manners to have on vacation. NOTE** the family before me took about 15 minutes or so playing taking pics, I helped….we patiently waited, they stayed to take "our" pictures…this family came from the “back”, like getting off the ride BUT did not bother to acknowledge anyone else as now others had gathered to get their own photos….

Hopefully you are not a DIS family and recognize this, if so, SHAME ON YOU! (and any December cruisers.....talk about Haley's hair GROWING!!)

But we managed to get the photos and catch Charming and Samantha...

See Alice, not "our" Alice...

before showing up late, or as the last "comers" to the Family Magic Tour.....CM Kristen knew "our" names already....

we arrived to the check in point and were greeted with a "you must be the Carlin family"....got our Peter Pan name tags and were escorted out to meet up with the rest of the non talkative, not very active, not even somewhat friendly group. Great.

 

[redheaded mama]

Thanks for posting. I'm looking forward to reading more.

 

[averill94]

Thanks ~glad to see you again!

 

[lillygator]

Still Friday….

There were only a few other families on our tour and most of the children were in the 7-9 age range. Our guide was so wonderful. She really did an excellent job at getting everyone in to the action. She played up her “character” very, very well. The tour started off outside the “hall” at the beginning of Main Street. The background info was given…you know, that mean old Captain Hook has threatened to take over the Magic Kingdom unless we find his special golden hook that the mischievous Peter Pan has swiped – within 2 hours of course.

Samantha totally bought it….and was right up there in front the whole time, she could care less about the rest of us – thankfully I could easily spot her as she didn’t want to stay back by the stroller. We got our first clue and stopped by the barber shop where our guide gave us an earful of her musical stylings….the tour was really a lot of fun, not too long and we even got a break in the middle. If it is something you haven’t done I recommend trying it. The guide had the children read the scrolls with the clues and poor Samantha wanted to do this in the worst way but she’s only 3 remember?

At the end of the tour we were taken to a special spot – passed Pocahontas on the way -

and greeted by Peter Pan and Wendy….we all got to take pictures and get their autograph. It was fantastic. Then they lead us to Small World and rode with us all in one boat. On the way Peter went to grab Samantha’s hand as Wendy had already grabbed another little girl’s hand. Samantha was mortified I think and she really wanted to be walking with Wendy. Peter sulked and got in the back of the boat with the tour guide. Wendy was extremely nice and sat in front of us and constantly turned around asking Samantha about this or that.

Now I previously mentioned that our group, well, appeared to not be very friendly. I was wrong, everyone was extremely nice and friendly just not very talkative except to their respective families…not that there is anything wrong with that but you know how things are much more fun in a group…especially when everyone is enjoying themselves and participating….maybe I just had visions of us making it a Bad Girl tour and us joining forces with Captain Hook and commandeering the Magic Kingdom (no, that will come later…on the Disney cruise…) But we enjoyed ourselves and plan to do it again this coming May and will have a surprise of our own for dear old Peter and Wendy.

After the tour we were hot, tired and hungry ~ look out Cinderella, the Royal Carlin Family is going to invade the castle for some grub!

 

[lillygator]

So in all of my wonderful planning I had managed to snag a CRT reservation for soon after our Family Magic Tour….SCORE!! We arrived around 12:20 pm for our 1 pm reservation, um, er, advance dining reservation. At first we were given a look and told to come back 15 minutes prior to our ADR but must have looked so pathetically tired, hot and hungry, the CM changed her mind and let us in.

We were led into the castle and smack into a zillion princesses between all ages and just a general commotion. I forgot to mention how unusually hot it was that day and I was really not in the mood for a crowd or line. Considering we had paid in advance for this “photo” with Cinderella….we waited in the gargantuan line….

You know...I have never understood the whole black choker thing on Cinderella....I don't think it goes with her whole princess theme...but hey, guess it could go with other outfits.....

OK……I think the only way to do CRT at all…for us…is to be FIRST or one of the FIRST ADR’s of the morning. We've had awesome experiences then. The other times are just too hectic for me. It is one thing to wait in manageable lines and a very well ventilated/air conditioning kicking place, but Cindy’s Palace just ain’t cuttin’ it. (Why didn’t I remember these words for our Halloween party trip?)

Up the elevator and into the restaurant we went…..we were given wands for all three girls and Charming got his sword….

the wands were actually light up ones (which have since been changed to “plain” as we will find out on our October trip) - I quickly comandeered them as I could envision what the two girls would have done with them...we were seated on the second tier, which, for us was different as we usually are right next to the window over looking fantasyland…we’ve had that table several times now and today Samantha noticed we weren’t at her table and so starts the whining. At this point I could use a wine myself….vacation?

Our server brings out drinks and the appetizer, or specialties of the castle as it be, immediately and takes our order.

Child's specialty of the castle...

It would be a while before we saw drinks again…and I was THIRSTY!

I had the Major Domo’s Favorite Pie, shredded beef simmered in rich cabernet sauce, served with mashed potatoes and sauteed vegetables, crowning a light pastry.

I thought it was very good BUT I was hot, had no refill and my throat was so parched it affected me wolfing it down….not necessarily a bad thing as “a moment on the lips, forever on the hips” they say.

Charming had the Pan Seared Salmon, Saffron crab risotto, grilled asparagus and lemon beurre blanc and he LOVED IT….I had to control him from actually picking up the plate and licking it….something he would do only in the confines of our home. When no one is looking of course.

Samantha had the chicken strips with green beans and was to busy climbing under the table, looking out for the princesses, poking her sister and just in general being a mess to really even eat….Charming swooped in on it though and well, it was edible.

making funny faces....lovely....

Haley was served Buttered Noodles (the under three age group....)….luckily she is pretty happy snacking off everyone else’s plate because buttered noodles just does not cut it with this gourmet eating princess.

We saw Belle…

Snow White….

Aurora, aka, Sleeping Beauty, aka Briar Rose….hmmm…maybe there is more to all these “aliases” than we all realize….I may start calling her Bad Girl Briar Rose….after all that is the only princess Charming requested…and stood up for a picture with….

And the Fairy Godmother….

For dessert Charming and I had the Blueberry Buckle with lemon ice cream and finished with creme fraiche…..Yum!

Both princesses had the child’s dessert which I thought was a very cute presentation. Call me a sucker for a crown…even if it is chocolate.

another face....??!!

They came around and brought us our pictures…I wish I had them just take the girls….I hate the way I look this past year…..oh well…we already paid so that was that. At this point…well really from the moment we sat down….I was READY to get the heck out of dodge. It was warm in there…Samantha was so acting like a pirate and I was just not enjoying myself. I always have grand envisions of how things are going to go and make all sorts of plans and what I took from this experience was – with little ones – if doing a tour, and it’s HOT and you end near midday…just eat CS or hit the park more and go back to the resort…

We always exit CRT via staircase, made a pit stop on the way out

and high tailed it back to the resort.

 

[lillygator]

We get back to Animal Kingdom Lodge and decide to throw caution to the wind and hit the pool forgoing naps….(gasp!)….now, it was May and HOT and the pool was rather crowded….we found a nice table with umbrella near the zero entry entrance and in full view of Mc Miracle and copped a squat right there. Charming ran over (well ok, Charming never runs unless it’s to first base, home plate, to wake Tinkerbell, free beer, or chasing a shoplifter) to get us drinks and Haley, lucky girl got a “minnie”, actually a “mini” virgin strawberry daiquiri….

Samantha was more interested in running off to get to that slide…

So Charming, the real Charming he is, took Samantha to the slide and I took Haley over to the kiddie pool.

Now I have to come clean…I like the kiddie pool, really I do….aside from the fact it “hides” the big with shrubs to you are unable to keep an eye on your peeps…as well as forgo hunk watching. If I only had one child to worry about it probably wouldn’t matter so much but I do have three I am responsible for….

Also, those kids who are brats…there’s one in every crowd….there was a boy in the water that was splashing Haley, in the face and on purpose. He was 5, and I know because I asked his mother, who was playing up the Bad Girl mantra in a lounger with a martini pretending not to pay any attention to what her darling young son was doing. I asked him several times to stop, that Haley was not bothering him yet that seemed to egg him on even more. And yes, they spoke English so they understood…just chose not too. Brat…luckily they left and as they were leaving a woman and her daughter, around the same age as Haley, sat down and told me the whole story, apparently devil boy was terrorizing her daughter the day before…we commiserated for a while….

I decided we had been MIA for too long and went back over to our table…Charming and Samantha had decided to whip out the Cinderella Color Wonder markers and coloring book I had put in the goodie bag….

Looks more like one of the hideous step sisters if you ask me….

We decided to head back to our room, nap and freshen up for the evening. Now, it’s been so long I can’t recall if I have mentioned it, but we had requested turndown service ~ we got to our room and FINALLY….

Have I said how much I love AKL?? I really like the theme and colors and people of this resort….


The afternoon was a blast, we hung by the pool, got drinks, played, colored, talked to Mc Miracle and really had a blast….in all honesty it was much more fun than the morning….(although we loved the tour). I was relaxed….I’m sure the poolside cocktails had nothing to do with it…nor the hunky Oh Canada! Eye candy!!!

That night we had an ADR for the one, the only – Charming’s favorite restaurant and his only request of the trip…..Le Cellier….

Now after a glorious day sunning, surfing and drinking….we really felt like just hanging at the resort….and by Walter, that is just what we did. I was worried that Charming was disappointed we didn’t make it to Le Cellier but he was fine with it.

We awoke from our naps, showered, changed and headed to Mara for dinner….
The place was pretty well empty. I was expecting an “I bet everyone is at Canada eating” comment but I all I got was a “can we go to the arcade after dinner V?”.

Charming had the fried shrimp platter with fries, coleslaw and a caeser salad. No plate licking today but he did finish it all.

I had the African Stew in a bread bowl…now I am a bread kinda gal…as apparent in these Bad Girl thighs….and the bread was about all I could eat with this meal. The stew was not what I had read on the DIS…there would be no stew follower here. It was ok, but it had a “taste” to it that I could not put my finger on. And a smell….at first I thought it was the bay leaf….?? I am glad I tried it, but will opt for butternut squash the next time!!

The girls split a cheese pizza and order of fries….as usual it was met with much love and was finished by Charming, after all, he grew up in the non food wasting family.

Unfortunately, I have NO CLUE where the receipts are, but rest assured we used our wonderful DDE card! We enjoyed the atmosphere in Mara that night, no crowds, the girls loved the cartoons and well, it was just Mara in the calm.

Afterwards…we cleared our table got some drinks to go and hit the arcade, after all it was on the way to our room!

We goofed off in the ‘cade for a while, ok, well until Samantha almost had her fingers cut in half when she got in the way of our air hockey game…Bad Parents...no, she wasn’t hurt but just scared us. And no, it was not me, I don’t put the force in it that Charming does…after all this man bounces pool balls through windows when “breaking”.

Then decided to call it a night….back to the room we trooped….I laid everyone’s clothes out for the next day, requested a wake up call from Captain Sparrow and promptly got on the top bunk, for old times sake.

 

[redheaded mama]

What a fun day. We did the family magic tour while we were there. My older kids took a while to warm up to the silliness, but it was fun. We were not lucky enough to have Peter Pan visit us, but Wendy was a lot of fun, and my six year old got to sit next to her at the movie. She loved it. I don't know if I would do the tour again, but I'm glad that we tried it once. Thanks for posting

 

[PaulDavid's mom]

So happy to read more of the report. I can't stand it when other kids splash my kid in pools. He can't stand water in his face so it really bothers him. Can't wait to hear more.

 

[lillygator]

Saturday May 20th, 2006 ~ Eliza Doolittle Day, Weights and Measures Day (what the heck is this?), Cher’s birthday…Bad Girl for sure!!

Basically, to me, this is our last official day. I mean we do check out tomorrow…but being so close we usually skip on home and blow the check out day.

So what do we do? Get up and tool around the “deluxe” resort….

Samantha on the steps to the parking lot....

really taking advantage of those said steps....

we went to Mara for breakfast...nothing overly the top...Mickey waffles, etc....tooled around a bit more....

what the heck, it was late...let's go to the pool......the AKL pool that is!

and really for the day, that is pretty much what we did.

Not sure how the evening came about but DSis and Mom came up for the evening. DMom, babysat as we went to California Grill and we met up with DSis and Shanana (sha"na"na) at Pleasure Island!!!

 

[lillygator]

So tonight, is one of our favorite restaurants, the California Grill. It has changed quite a bit since our first visit. But what the heck, we were going to be SANS KIDS! Who wouldn’t rejoice?

Our advanced dining reservation was for 8pm. 8pm, two adults, no children. Heck our reservation may have included the kids, but once I heard the “me and mom are coming over” I dropped the girls like a hot potato. No offense.

We arrived a bit, not much, early for our reservation. Checked in and was sent immediately upstairs where we chose to wait at the bar….go figure.
Charming had a Bud and I ordered a wine of some sort….

Sitting next to us, well I was APPALLED, I mean, most everyone knows there is a dress code to the CG. The woman next to me had on a plain white t-shirt with a wet bathing suit underneath (it was showing through the “t” with plenty of wet spots), some form of shorts and flops – hair was still dripping wet down her back. Her SO, partner, brother or whomever she was with was dressed appropriately. They proceeded to order their dinner there. I guess skivvies at the bar are fine?? Next time I will be sure to wear my diamond studded thong and shove DH into a marble bag before adding a simple t-shirt.

We were soon paged and had the most perfect seat….it was actually the same table as Samantha’s first CG dinner, the night before our very first Disney cruise!!!

We ordered a sushi appetizer…

this was our view...

DH got the Greek Goddess salad…

And I had the tuna appetizer…

And this for an entrée….not sure if I remember….

Charming had the filet, sauce on the side….

And an excellent dessert with a fresh glass of wine….

NOW, once again, V had timed it with perfection. We would have a stunning view of Wishes. But after a few words, glances and let’s get away from these flip flops, we decided to wrap up and head to PI to meet the youngin’s. Stopping back at AKL so Johnny could change from khaki's to shorts and my skirt to jeans.....

Can you name these bars??
We pretty much went to them all….

Twister anyone???

I was appalled…I mean….chains? for a beer??

I made Amber try a liquid cocaine….at least she didn’t puke, well, not right away anyway….

Made it back to AKL somehow….and ordered the most expensive room service breakfast you’ve ever seen!!!

 

[Blaze12]

THIS PICTURE CRACKS ME UP!!!!!!!!!!!

Is this what I have to look forward to with sisters???