Our Magical Mulligan Trip!!

[DisneyJo]

I thought I would come and check out your TR as I've seen you everywhere I read! Just a request though could you put a link in your Signature as I had a hard time finding this! Only read the first few pages, off to watch Eastenders then back for the rest. See you later for some and when you don't reply quick enough.

 

[DisneyJo]

Just finished page 12, OMG girl you can write What's with you saying you don't take a good photo? You look great to me wet hair or not. Your DS is so cute, we stop the asking for souvenirs by giving them a set amount (well they use birthday money ) for the whole holiday and they spend it how they want! I'd love to stay at the Poly one day, as a kid (well 17, but if your parents are going to Florida you still go yeah) we stayed for 3 nights at GF but all I can remember is how thick the carpets were

Well I'm now off to bed, read the rest tomorrow. Nightie night.

 

[DisneyJo]

Well I've finished and where have you been? There are so many great things I want to say about your TR, for starters your DS is sooooo cute I love the posing, my youngest DD loves the camera, I would say she will be on the stage soon but at the ripe old age of 8 has just finished a 3 month stint in our towns pantomime as a dancer and although I am biased she was great! Your DH is the opposite of mine, mine is obsessed with photography and I have to keep reminding him to actually include us in the pictures.

I'm pleased I managed to finish it before you did so I can join you for the last day! Also if us Brits can do Florida in August so can you. If you look at my signature photo carefully you will see signs of glistening!

 

[Lauralee131]

Well I've finished and where have you been? There are so many great things I want to say about your TR, for starters your DS is sooooo cute I love the posing, my youngest DD loves the camera, I would say she will be on the stage soon but at the ripe old age of 8 has just finished a 3 month stint in our towns pantomime as a dancer and although I am biased she was great! Your DH is the opposite of mine, mine is obsessed with photography and I have to keep reminding him to actually include us in the pictures.

I'm pleased I managed to finish it before you did so I can join you for the last day! Also if us Brits can do Florida in August so can you. If you look at my signature photo carefully you will see signs of glistening!

Hey there! Thanks for joining in! Yes, I know I have to get that link back in my siggie...it was in there and I took it out for some silly reason!

I'm getting ready to leave work and head out to pick up DS for our quickie Disney fix for the weekend and I PROMISE I will get back on my TR when I get back!

I am just as bloated from all the popcorn eating and reading V's...she's not done yet either you know! It's not just ME!! And UtahMama - she's not done yet either, but close...and when did she go? September?

Oh! And thanks for pointing out the "glistening!" I'm definitely thinking of a quickie trip for a Focker meet!! LOVE THOSE...they're almost as good as the drinks!! Will you be there those same dates too? The more the merrier!!

Ok, gotta go...back Monday night!!!! Later gators!!!!

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

Yahhh!!!
DisneyJo's gonna be there, too. Ok, that makes me, you, V, and Jo. If that's not a focker meet, I don't know what is!

You can't go on another trip, you haven't finished your trippie, yet?? Thanks alot Lauralee, now I'm gonna get all puffy and bloated from all this darn popcorn!

I'll be here.... waiting....
Maybe V will post some goods for me to read!

Well, at least HAVE FUN!!!!

 

[DisneyJo]

Yahhh!!!
DisneyJo's gonna be there, too. Ok, that makes me, you, V, and Jo. If that's not a focker meet, I don't know what is!

OMG what am I getting myself in to, my DH will definately think I've flipped.

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

OMG what am I getting myself in to, my DH will definately think I've flipped.

Bwahahahaha!!!! (That my evil laugh! ) You've come to the green side!

Ummm... hellooooo, Lauralee? Where are you? It's Tuesday, you should be back.... writing.... for your fans....

 

[Lauralee131]

Yahhh!!!
DisneyJo's gonna be there, too. Ok, that makes me, you, V, and Jo. If that's not a focker meet, I don't know what is!

You can't go on another trip, you haven't finished your trippie, yet?? Thanks alot Lauralee, now I'm gonna get all puffy and bloated from all this darn popcorn!

I'll be here.... waiting....
Maybe V will post some goods for me to read!

Well, at least HAVE FUN!!!!

Yooooooo Hooooooooo Remember me??? I'm back!!

And still haven't caught up with my writing!! It's taken me quite a bit of time tonight to catch up on V's thread...my, my - you girls have been so chatty while I was gone! I posted in her trippie that we need some dates to set for August...I ran it by DH this past weekend and he sounded cool with it so I want to book it before he changes his mind!!

Anyway, needless to say I've got some serious writing to catch up on and will try and work on that at lunch tomorrow...I've gotta catch some zzzz's...

Good to be back! I missed my peeps!!

 

[DisneyJo]

Yeah, can't wait.

 

[Lauralee131]

I took one last look behind me at Epcot as we walked up the ramp and surprisingly enough, there were very few people waiting to board. I asked if we could ride up front and sure enough, it was our lucky day.

We had an elderly gentleman share the ride up front with us. He was from Europe and was very kind. He spoke very broken English, so we didn’t have much conversation, but he was nice enough to take our picture for us.

The sun was setting and it had been a beautiful day. I was excited to see the Grand Floridian. In all these years, I’d never “been there”. Oh sure, the monorail and the buses stop there, but I’d always looked at it as a place for the rich and famous. And quite frankly, it didn’t look fun. The exterior was beautiful, no argument there, but come on…it looked fancy, not fun.

Actually, in thinking back, I’d been on their property once, back in 1997…DH and I had gone to WDW right after we’d gotten engaged and we went for a walk and ended up at Franc’s. We peeked into the windows and checked out the lake, but that was it. Can’t even remember right now HOW we even got there. Must’ve been a good night! We weren’t even staying in the area…we stayed at CBR that trip.

Anywhoooo….I’d never actually been inside, is the point I was making. So here we were going for dinner on our last night at Narcoosee’s. It wasn’t my first choice. Nor my second. I’d read mixed reviews on the place and the cost was putting me off. I’d wanted to go to Whispering Canyon on our last night. It’s fun, and we had a 9:30 sleigh ride at the WL so we’d be there anyway. Nope. No luck. Totally booked. Even Kona and O’Hana’s were booked. I wanted to eat near the MK and the only choices I’d had left were Citrico’s and Narcoosee’s.

First I’d reserved Citrico’s. Again, it seemed to be expensive and also had somewhat mixed reviews. The last thing I wanted was a really expensive, really-not-worth-it dinner on our last night. After spending considerable time on the restaurant boards and taking opinions from my Dis-friends, I’d called and changed Citrico’s to Narcoosee’s.

Our ADR was for 6:15. I figured that would allow plenty of time to enjoy dinner, and get over to the WL with time to enjoy the Christmas decorations and the lobby before our sleigh ride.

We got off the monorail and walked inside the main building of the GF. In a word, stunning. I felt as if I’d stepped back in time. There was an air about the place. I can’t really explain it. It was rich, yet not snobby. And it was beautifully decorated. I don’t know why, but it made me think of Titanic. Old time elegance I suppose. I did feel a tad bit underdressed to walk through the lobby, but I really didn’t look much different than 40 to 50% of the other people in there, so I don’t even know why the thought occurred to me.

There was music playing throughout the lobby and then we looked across the way and there was a small group of musicians – a mini orchestra if you will – playing. That may be where the Titanic thought came from, when I saw those gentlemen.

We looked over the railing at the beautiful tree. Is it as big as the ones in the parks? It’s huge! We headed down the stairs and saw the famous gingerbread house we’d seen on television. It really is amazing what they can do with chocolate and dough, eh?

Oh look honey!! Photopass!! Yep…he got to hear those dreaded words one last time. But, no go. At this point DH didn’t want to simply wander around, he wanted dinner. So we set out on a quest to find out where in the world Narcoosee’s was. The more he wanders around, the more aggravated he gets, so I left him and DS and went to the concierge desk to get directions and then off we went, outside across the grounds and towards the water. I’d have never guessed to look out there.

We got to Narcoosee’s and from the moment we walked in the door, every single CM we encountered was among the friendliest we’d ever met. Again I felt a tad bit underdressed, but as we were escorted through the restaurant to our table, I saw several people in jeans. Phew! We were brought across the restaurant and I began wondering if they were sitting us out of the way because of the way we were dressed, but then we got to our table…right along the water. Awesome!! We had a great Magic Kingdom view!

Linda was our server and she was delightful. Very friendly and helpful, and great with our son. We started out with drinks and ordered appetizers…the calamari and the crab cakes. The calamari was out of this world. Yeah, yeah – I know, it’s just fried…How hard can it be, right? But there’s a difference, trust me and this place was awesome. It had peppers in with it and I love it like that and gobbled it right up. Lovely Linda brought out Michael’s mac and cheese with our appetizers without us having to ask. We’d about given up trying to get his dinner with our appetizers so when Linda brought out his dinner with our apps, she just made our day. And you may think I’m crazy but it was the best macaroni and cheese he’s gotten anywhere within the World. Seriously.

And here's proof that it was a great restaurant...just look at the smile on this very satisfied customer! I had to over-enhance the pics from the GF so they're very grainy, but they were really dark. I should have left well enough alone, but boy, when I un-earthed this smiling shot of DH, it was all worth it! Don't let him tell you he didn't enjoy it!!

Ok, I know, it’s not a restaurant review. I’ll move on. DH and I got the filet and lobster tail for dinner by the way. Delicious. We were able to see some fireworks from the MK from our dinner table…must’ve been that cute little show at the castle. Wow – It’s only been a bit over a month since we’ve come back and I can’t remember the name of it…anybody? It was only a few fireworks, nothing big, but we really enjoyed seeing them from our seats. Add a spectacular view to a fabulous dinner and we’re on our way to a magical evening! Hmmmm…if only we had a babysitter!

So you know that dinner was great. Dessert was pretty awesome too. I had an awesome piece of cheesecake with a “Fondant” which is apparently all sugar…it was so pretty – it’s amazing what these people can do with desserts…as if they weren’t tempting enough already!

After dinner we were all fat and happy and started our walk back to the main building. But wait…it’s chilly. Here boys…Look! I brought OUR SWEATERS!!! Tee hee…

We put on our now-infamous dorky sweaters and went back inside the main building for a closer look at the gingerbread house and OOH honey LOOK – Photopass!! And how convenient…we have our sweaters on!! We got a couple of last photos in front of the GF Christmas tree and then decided to head to the WL for our sleigh ride.


(**Insert mental picture of us in front of GF's Christmas tree here...my scanner is down)

We hopped on the monorail to the MK and boarded a boat for the WL. I love this place. We stayed here for the first time back in January of ’06 on our “Magically Dysfunctional Gathering” trip. I’ll have to admit…I wasn’t so crazy about the idea when we booked it. We were living in NH at that time and my opinion was “Hey – I live in the woods, why would I want to pay so much money for a hotel to make me feel like I’m in the woods?” Ok, I’ll admit it, we’re all friends here…I was wrong. I was just so wrong. But please don’t tell DH!! The word “wrong” is virtually never used by me any other time!

We walked up the ramp and past the geyser and headed up toward the lobby when we passed a CM who was scurrying down toward the lake. She mumbled something about seeing something – fireworks I thought and said that we were headed for a sleigh ride and she said that we’d be able to see it from there and then as we got up to the little lookout area over the pool we saw a bunch of people standing outside “ooh-ing” and “aah-ing” at something. We turned around and there it was – the space shuttle Discovery launching! Oh wow – totally forgot that was happening tonight and here we were able to see it! By the time I’d gotten my camera out and ready to go it had stopped changing colors, but I did manage to get a shot of it…although not as good as I’d hoped it would have been.

So this was kind of a magical evening so far…a great dinner, dorky-sweater-photopass-Christmas-pictures and the space shuttle. And now he we were about to go on a holiday sleigh ride. Man I love this place!

And boy, if you think the WL is beautiful, you really need to see it around the holidays…WOW! It’s ten times more warm and inviting for Christmas! DH and I had already been here for dinner at Artist’s Point, but didn’t take too much time to really soak it all in and enjoy it…We were a few minutes…ok, 20 minutes early for our ride so we were able to linger in the lobby a bit.

Did I show you guys this picture yet?

I could have just snuggled up in a chair and sat in front of that fireplace all night, listening to the music of the lodge and soaking in all the happy and energy that this place and all who were in here gave off. How can it be so relaxing and filled with life and energy at the same time? I don’t know – call it Disney Magic. I look forward to coming back some day for a stay in the WL villas.

We wandered out front to find out where to check in for the sleigh ride (you check in with the actual drivers by the way – not any of the desks in the hotel) and just seeing the horse, the sleigh and the driver gave me a warm fuzzy feeling. Very Christmas-y. Our driver’s name was John – one of the horse trainers here at WDW who does this kind of thing for extra money around the holidays. John reminded me a lot of Garth Brooks and had this great cowboy hat and duster jacket on. Very cool looking. The horse and the sleigh were all decked out in their Christmas best – as were we, in our dorky sweaters! Yep – I had it all planned…another Kodak moment in the making…too bad there was no Photopass photographer…our photo that John was kind enough to take of us didn’t come out so great, but that’s ok…we’ve still got the memories. And the sweaters, right Honey? Love you, mean it!!

John told us that his 9pm sleigh ride had been cancelled so he could take us right away! COOL! He introduced us to Charley, his horse and told us to climb on up.

I wish I’d had known…I had no "sleigh ride"-ish beverages with us!

Ah well…I’ll survive.

I hope.

John gave us a couple of blankets for the ride and climbed up front and we heard him say to Charley, “Step Up” and off we went. As the sleigh started moving, the fireworks at the MK were going off. Have a Magical Night Hartz Family!!! It really was a nice night – not too cold, but chilly enough for “effect”. The sky was clear and full of stars and fireworks as we headed off into the woods to the sound of sleigh bells and hoof-beats on the ground. V – is hoof-beats a word? No? If I hyphenate it like I did, does it BECOME a word? No? Hmmmm….Ok, well you guys get the picture, right?

John was very friendly and told us about his work at the resort with the horses. What a great job. They train the horses with verbal commands – nothing physical, which I really respected. Step Up, for example tells them to go forward. He gave us a few other commands that they use with the horses, but I can’t remember them now. It was a lovely ride through the woods. Very quiet once the fireworks stopped.

DH and I were laughing about the Seinfeld episode where Kramer gets the Hansome cab and horse, “Rusty” and he feeds the horse “Beef-a-reeno” and the horse gets really bad gas…We’re big Seinfeld fans and can relate almost anything in everyday life with at least one episode of the show.

After the giggles subsided, we realized that John, our friendly sleigh driver, was talking.

To himself.

Constantly.

Having an entire conversation.

With himself!?!

OMG – could this guy be NUTS? Here we were in the middle of nowhere with some crazy guy talking to himself. I knew this was too good to be true! He’s going to chop us up and leave us in the woods where no one can hear us scream!!

DH and I were wondering what would happen to us all when the sleigh came to a stop.

In the middle of the woods.

In the dark....

Dun dun dunnnnnnn....

Turns out the sleigh ride in front of us had to stop for a....err....potty break....RUSTY!!!

It was then that we realized that John was actually not a psycho killer after all. At least not this trip. Turns out he was on the phone all that time and we couldn't see his little bluetooth ear piece. PHEW...for a while there I thought we were goners!

A little bit later our sleigh ride came to an end. We returned to the gorgeous WL and said our good-bye's to John and Charley...

We hopped on a bus to the MK so we could catch a bus over to the All Star Sports, where we would spend the last night of our Magical Mulligan Trip.

Would we survive the bus ride there? Would we even get a seat on the bus? Would we even like our home away from home for the evening? Stay tuned, Mousketeers....

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

V – is hoof-beats a word?

DH and I were laughing about the Seinfeld episode where Kramer gets the Hansome cab and horse, “Rusty” and he feeds the horse “Beef-a-reeno” and the horse gets really bad gas…We’re big Seinfeld fans and can relate almost anything in everyday life with at least one episode of the show.

Stay tuned, Mousketeers

Ok, way cute family picture.

That shuttle picture looks like a buttered popcorn flavored jelly belly on a black napkin. Just sayin'

Yes, I can confirm hoof beats is a word.

OMG! I love Seinfeld. DSIL wore a puffy white shirt on Christmas Eve and I made a "Seinfeld" joke and she just looked at me with a dead pan stare. It's no fun to make Seinfeld jokes with someone who has never seen it. Well, at least me and DH got a good laugh. DSIL didn't think it was funny.

Awwww.... how cute is Mr. Michael??

Love the cliff hanger, baybee! Looking forward to more, soon-ish!

 

[Lauralee131]

Ok, way cute family picture.!

Thank you, thank you very much!

That shuttle picture looks like a buttered popcorn flavored jelly belly on a black napkin. Just sayin' !

Yeah, um...I don't have the photo-artism that V has...I had to put a description in there on my computer so I'd know what the heck that picture is supposed to be the next time I looked at it!

Yes, I can confirm hoof beats is a word. !

Phew...I thought for sure someone would go, "No you idiot, that is NOT a word!"

OMG! I love Seinfeld. DSIL wore a puffy white shirt on Christmas Eve and I made a "Seinfeld" joke and she just looked at me with a dead pan stare. It's no fun to make Seinfeld jokes with someone who has never seen it. Well, at least me and DH got a good laugh. DSIL didn't think it was funny. !

I know how that feels - apparently only like 1 out of every 100 people or so in North Carolina have even HEARD of Seinfeld so alot of my Seinfeld-isms are met with those same dead stares

Love the cliff hanger, baybee! Looking forward to more, soon-ish![/quote]

I gotta finish this one up so I can do another on my quickie trip from last weekend!

Hey - what dates are you going to be at WDW again? Trying to come up with a plan for a visit! I know you posted it somewhere, but I can't find it for the life of me!

 

[DisneyJo]

I know how that feels - apparently only like 1 out of every 100 people or so in North Carolina have even HEARD of Seinfeld so alot of my Seinfeld-isms are met with those same dead stares

Hey even us guys over here get Seinfeld, although DH is more into it than I am.

Great photos BTW. I'm umming and ahhing (don't know if they're words DLM?) about 1 ADR at GF we were going to 1900 PF but it's shut and is now pre-plated in GF cafe. Would you recommend Narcoossee's with my 2 DD's? Also is it 1 credit or 2?

Thanks, LYMI (thought I'd join in on this one am I allowed?)

 

[mlill]

WoW! What a fabulous day! I'm so glad you made it into the Grand Floridian - it is really beautiful, isn't it? I felt the same way as you did before we stayed there in December, not sure if I'd really like it, but willing to give it a try. Well, it was wonderful! I hope your scanner starts working because I'd love to see the 'sweater' picture in front of the big GF tree. I was so happy they had PhotoPass guys in the lobby! I'm glad you liked Narcossees, too! It's nice to do something different at WDW - try out new places, and see for yourself. It's great to read the reviews, but everyone is different, and you might love a place that other people hated! You never know! I wish we could have gone on a sleigh ride, too, but it's for 4 people and we didn't want to split up. Maybe I can talk DH into a weekend trip for us (no kids!) later this year, and take a romantic sleigh ride with beverages.

I've had so much fun reading your TR. Thanks for all of the hard work you put into it! I'm looking forward to reading about your latest trip to WDW!

Take care,
-Michelle

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

Yeah, um...I don't have the photo-artism that V has...I had to put a description in there on my computer so I'd know what the heck that picture is supposed to be the next time I looked at it!

Too funny! LY,MI!

I know how that feels - apparently only like 1 out of every 100 people or so in North Carolina have even HEARD of Seinfeld so alot of my Seinfeld-isms are met with those same dead stares

It was the POET SHIRT episode! Don't you love that one? Oh and I love the man-hands one.

Hey - what dates are you going to be at WDW again? Trying to come up with a plan for a visit! I know you posted it somewhere, but I can't find it for the life of me!

My dates are 8/21-8/30. I think the only weekend is the 25th-26th. DisneyJo leaves on the 27th or 28th.

Hey even us guys over here get Seinfeld, although DH is more into it than I am.

Great photos BTW. I'm umming and ahhing (don't know if they're words DLM?)

I don't know about umming and ahhing. I had to ask DMom about hoof beats, she's the English major.

 

[Lauralee131]

Hey even us guys over here get Seinfeld, although DH is more into it than I am.

Great photos BTW. I'm umming and ahhing (don't know if they're words DLM?) about 1 ADR at GF we were going to 1900 PF but it's shut and is now pre-plated in GF cafe. Would you recommend Narcoossee's with my 2 DD's? Also is it 1 credit or 2?

Thanks, LYMI (thought I'd join in on this one am I allowed?)

I would TOTALLY recommend Narcoosee's, but I don't know how many credits it would take - we didn't have the dining plan.

I know - the shame of it all!! Love, love, love it though!! My DS (5) was really good in there and they were all super friendly with him - I never felt that I was bringing him someplace where children shouldn't be.

DH and I agreed though that we'll go back some night alone on a date night...it's just wonderful and could be a very romantic dinner for 2 just as easily as it could be a great family night...

Did that help or just confuse you more? Yeah, I tend to do that...

And EEEEWWWWWW - I work with a lady who has man hands... it really creeps me out...and NO ONE that works with me "gets it"...either I'm too old or Seinfeld just wasn't a bit hit in the South...can't figure it out...

LY/MI too!!!! Silly rabbit, of course you can join in!!! Nothing but love and pixie dust here!!

 

[Lauralee131]

WoW! What a fabulous day! I'm so glad you made it into the Grand Floridian - it is really beautiful, isn't it? I felt the same way as you did before we stayed there in December, not sure if I'd really like it, but willing to give it a try. Well, it was wonderful! I hope your scanner starts working because I'd love to see the 'sweater' picture in front of the big GF tree. I was so happy they had PhotoPass guys in the lobby! I'm glad you liked Narcossees, too! It's nice to do something different at WDW - try out new places, and see for yourself. It's great to read the reviews, but everyone is different, and you might love a place that other people hated! You never know! I wish we could have gone on a sleigh ride, too, but it's for 4 people and we didn't want to split up. Maybe I can talk DH into a weekend trip for us (no kids!) later this year, and take a romantic sleigh ride with beverages.

I've had so much fun reading your TR. Thanks for all of the hard work you put into it! I'm looking forward to reading about your latest trip to WDW!

Take care,
-Michelle

Thanks Michelle! I have a lot of TR catching up to do and yours is at the top of my list! I'm way behind - the last I saw I think was getting ready for the Tea...I gotta get busy!!

 

[Lauralee131]

Too funny! LY,MI!

I feel a lot of love here!! I guess my space shuttle pic could go down in history with all of DH's blurry ones!!!!

It was the POET SHIRT episode! Don't you love that one? Oh and I love the man-hands one.

OMG - I just was telling Jo that I work with like the original man-hands chick...wonder if I can get a picture...it's really freaky!! Like a train wreck, I don't want to see and yet I can't look away!!

My dates are 8/21-8/30. I think the only weekend is the 25th-26th. DisneyJo leaves on the 27th or 28th.

OK, the 25th/26th it is...I hope DS doesn't start school then...would be nice to take one last long weekend before he starts school...and I gotta get my butt in gear to plan October!!!

I don't know about umming and ahhing. I had to ask DMom about hoof beats, she's the English major.

You just crack me up!!!

 

[DisneyJo]

OMG Lauralee, I had to read your reply to me several times before it made sense, will we need a translator when we meet?

 

[megandbrandon]

Hey Lauralee! I read your first trip report last week and just finished reading this one. First, I have to say that I'm so sorry your magical gathering was not so magical. Your SIL sounds like a real piece of work. At least you got a Mulligan Trip because of it! This report was great and your son is absolutely adorable! I'm so happy you all had such a good time on this one, it made up for the first one.

I also have to say that I thought the story where your two friends dressed up like Buzz and Woody was the cutest/sweetest thing ever! Your son must have been beyond thrilled along with all the other kids at the party. What good friends to do all that!

Can't wait to hear about your last night!