Our Rockin' Trip to the World~February TR! UPDATE 5/15 ~ LINK TO PTR!!!!!!

[pinkxray]

A July trip would be awesome. I hope it works out for you.

I hope Max feels better soon. I had awful ear infections when I was younger and they were the worst! DH had the tubes put in when he was younger and that stopped him from getting ear infections. Hopefully once Max just that done he would have any more troubles

 

[tinacaplan]

Poor Max... Poor Mom!! It is so hard when our small ones are sick. Hang in there! I hope he feels better soon!

Thanks! I'm sure that he will. And, again, its more of an annoyance than anything, but I do hate to see my baby in pain.

Awesome news of a possible trip!! Keeping those fingers crossed for you!

Poor baby! I sure hope he can get whatever he needs to get him to feeling better!

Thank you! He is...now we just have to hold on until he has his surgery.

Great news on another possible trip! I've booked small weekend trips with Expedia and they have gone fairly well for the most part. You're right on the fact you have to pay it all at once, but hey, isn't that what credit cards are for?!

And I'm so sorry Max has been so sick! I hope everything gets better with him!

Thanks! And I think I'll be able to swing paying it all at once, if need be. We'll see..but it is looking more and more likely... Keeping my fingers crossed, for sure.

I think the song is More than a Feeling by Boston.

Epcot is so beautiful, I can see why it's your favorite place. I'm surprised to see topiaries. Was the Flower & Garden Festival already going on?

Your trip in July sounds very exciting! I hope it works out for you. We booked a seven night Land and Sea Adventure through Travelocity over two years ago. A month after we booked, we found out Carter was coming and had to cancel. We got all our deposit money back, so that's something.

And, that, is a point for you! I wanted to use that song, but not the necessarily the title line from the chorus.

I'm sure an impending arrival was a good reason to have to cancel.

A July trip would be awesome. I hope it works out for you.

I hope Max feels better soon. I had awful ear infections when I was younger and they were the worst! DH had the tubes put in when he was younger and that stopped him from getting ear infections. Hopefully once Max just that done he would have any more troubles

Yes, a July trip WOULD be awesome. Here's hoping...

I'm confident he'll be ok after he has his surgery.

 

[MickeyNicki]

Aw, poor Max! I know he will get through this just fine. I love the pic of him asleep with his bear and dog

And YAYAYYAYA for a July trip! I will have my fingers and toes crossed for you babe!

 

[tinacaplan]

Aw, poor Max! I know he will get through this just fine. I love the pic of him asleep with his bear and dog

And YAYAYYAYA for a July trip! I will have my fingers and toes crossed for you babe!

Thanks...I thought that picture was one worth sharing. It was just so cute. Luckily, he's feeling better now.

I think July will pan out. Its looking more and more likely... We shall see. I should know for sure in the next few weeks and be able to at least buy plane tickets. From there, I'm just going to try and track down the best deal on a room that I can find. Although I am a bit worried that Max might freak out of if we don't stay at Coronado again... Kathy will be so proud!

I was just going through my pictures from our meet and there are some great ones of you and Max! Only a few more updates until I get to those.

 

[tinacaplan]

We walked into the Land and I sniffed for a second, knowing I would not ride Soarin’ during this trip. Someday, we shall meet again flight simulator ride.

Here’s the blurry version of what I saw:

One of the weird things about Garden Grill, in my opinion, is how open it is to the rest of the Land. The rotating doesn’t bother me, but it seemed odd that for part of it, you are sort of on stage for all to see.. We waited for a few minutes and then we were brought to our table.

I was bit disappointed as I would have liked to have had a booth on the lower level. Oh well. The table was fine. Our server was quick and efficient. She explained that each of the characters would make their way around the restaurant and stop at each table. She also told us that the restaurant will make a complete rotation during the course of our dinner. Nifty. How does Disney manage to time things like that? We may never know.

She brought us our drinks and our first course salad and bread right away. The salad was ok. The bread was quite good, as was the honey butter its served with. Honey butter is a funny thing, as I’m sure Winnie the Pooh would say. I worked at a seafood restaurant as a waitress for awhile and they served warm bread with honey butter. I, and our guests, thought it was just about the most delicious thing I’d ever tasted and all it is butter combined with...um...wait for it....honey!

The salad, with some bacon, grape tomatoes, and egg:

It was, thankfully, not overly dressed in a ranch-like dressing that did not taste like much, unfortunately.

In case you haven’t figured this out by now, GG is family-style, which I like. Our main platter of food came out pretty quickly.

Now, when I first read the menu here, this combination of food did not strike me as odd, but in reality...not the most appealing. The tiliapia was good, as was the swiss chard they served it on. But I am not a big fan of turkey or dressing. Max got a separate platter with a chicken drumstick, sweet potato fries, and mac and cheese:

My husband, not my son, was getting anxious that none of the characters had been to our table yet. I was still feeling confident that they would come. After all, I’d read account after account here on the Dis, that, if nothing else, GG had excellent character interactions.

And then...Chip (or Dale) came! Max got into position...

You can see in his face how much he is thinking the whole thing over...

And then Chip (or Dale) approached and put his hands up... I love how excited Max looks in this picture:

And...there it is...the look on your child’s face that every parent dreams about:

Mark getting in on the action, he tried to videotape the whole thing on his phone.

And then things got a little Goofy... (sorry, lame joke, couldn’t resist it!)

With Mickey..

And with Dale (or Chip)...

Pluto showed up last and Max had to reach up and touch his tongue!

So, our overall impressions of the Garden Grill? It was OK. Or, in the words of my husband, it was better than the yucky meal we had the previous year at 50’s PTC. One word keeps running through my mind about the food here: BLAND! It was all just there. It wasn’t gross or anything; just very plain and straight forward. There was not anything I would have wanted seconds of.
The character interactions, however, were top-notch. Chip and Dale, in particular, were great with Max and really spent some time with him. It was a wonderful night, from that stand point, and it was nice to be able to take our time with the characters. Not sure I’d do this one again, though. I realize that we all do the character meals for the characters, not the food, but it would seem to me that for what you’re paying, they could do a little bit better.

And next...we're off in search of Mouseears...and something a bit stickier and sweeter...and German perhaps?

 

[3prettyprincesses]

First off, the song is by Dead or Alive. Oh how I love 80's big hair band music!! "You spin me right round baby, right round!" Love it!

And second, what adorable pics! Wow, it sure looks like Garden Grill was a hit for character interaction (but not so much food I guess). Max is super cute, he looks so thrilled.

So the rotating didn't bother you? I've always wondered about that aspect of the restaurant. DD's are HUGE fans of Chip and Dale so maybe we should give it a try.

Adorable update!

 

[tinacaplan]

First off, the song is by Dead or Alive. Oh how I love 80's big hair band music!! "You spin me right round baby, right round!" Love it!

And second, what adorable pics! Wow, it sure looks like Garden Grill was a hit for character interaction (but not so much food I guess). Max is super cute, he looks so thrilled.

So the rotating didn't bother you? I've always wondered about that aspect of the restaurant. DD's are HUGE fans of Chip and Dale so maybe we should give it a try.

Adorable update!

Thanks...I got some half-way decent pictures, which isn't bad for someone like me who, honestly, doesn't take great pictures. I also have a super cheap camera right now. I truly did not feel the rotation at all. It was kind of weird.

I would say its worth doing once, just for the characters!

 

[dizneeat]

Great photos of my favourite "character" - MAX!!!

How cute how he embraces the experience to meet the characters. Oh wait, I did see that at Cape May too!

I feel a lot like you about the menu at Garden Grill and I am not a huge fan of the whole "family style" concept. But it is worth it for the characters!

 

[pinkxray]

Max looks so adorable meeting the characters! The food looks kind of gross to me. I wish they still had regular fries and chicken nuggets for kids. Caitlin wouldn't touch a drumstick or sweet potato fry with a 10 foot pole.

I think I can safely cross Garden Grill off my list. It does look great for the character interaction though.

It sounds like you are heading for the caramel shop next.

 

[amandaluvsgoofy]

LOVE the pics of Max with the characters! So sweet!!

And I'm sorry about the food! We really liked it when we went, but it was different. The salad didn't have the fixings and the fish didn't have chard. I wonder what happened. Did you guys get dessert?
Geez, now I'm wondering if we should book something else....

Great update! Can't wait to hear what else you guys did at Epcot!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Oh man, Mark channeling Charlie Sheen, that is

Love the pics of Max with the characters, he looks so happy to see them all. The look on his face is just priceless! Reminds me when I first took my 3 year old niece and the excitement of that just stays with me.

GG is one place that we have never been to and honestly I dont think we ever will...the smell hits me every single time we walk into the Land and I get instantly nauseated.

As a child of the 80's I am just as much in love with Epcot as you are...but Capt Eo is just a sad reminder of the 80's

Cannot wait to see more!

 

[KatMark]

Tina, I am FINALLY all caught up. Here are some ocmments and I promise from here on out I will be here in a timely fashion.

1) Love the introduction
2) McDonalds -- the breakfast of champions
3) I'm so glad you had an uneventful plane ride and that Max was okay with it and found a friend to play with before boarding
4) Great location of a room in 8B...close to the Dig Site; so glad Max enjoyed the pool
5) Yes, the bus stops do change from time to time at the parks
6) Sorry that Max has not been feeling well and his having surgery. I know this is probably just as hard on you.
7) to the possibility of a July trip
8) Love Max's reaction when seeing Chip (the way to tell the difference is Chip has the dark nose--almost black--like a chocolate "chip"); so the last picture is of Max and Dale. And all of the character photos with Max are absolutely precious. Way to go MAX!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[tinacaplan]

Great photos of my favourite "character" - MAX!!!

How cute how he embraces the experience to meet the characters. Oh wait, I did see that at Cape May too!

I feel a lot like you about the menu at Garden Grill and I am not a huge fan of the whole "family style" concept. But it is worth it for the characters!

Thanks! And you sure did! Can't wait to read more about that epic day over on your TR.

Now that we've done it once, I think we can live without doing Garden Grill again. Its nice that I now have a much clearer picture of what I like and don't like in terms of dining with a four year-old at Disney. Makes planning our next trip that much easier! (And I just might have made some ADRs already...)

Max looks so adorable meeting the characters! The food looks kind of gross to me. I wish they still had regular fries and chicken nuggets for kids. Caitlin wouldn't touch a drumstick or sweet potato fry with a 10 foot pole.

I think I can safely cross Garden Grill off my list. It does look great for the character interaction though.

It sounds like you are heading for the caramel shop next.

Thanks! Yeah, I wouldn't do Garden Grill again. It's not cheap and the food was just so "meh." And let's see if you're right about the caramel...

LOVE the pics of Max with the characters! So sweet!!

And I'm sorry about the food! We really liked it when we went, but it was different. The salad didn't have the fixings and the fish didn't have chard. I wonder what happened. Did you guys get dessert?
Geez, now I'm wondering if we should book something else....

Great update! Can't wait to hear what else you guys did at Epcot!

The chard was one of the only things I liked! We did have dessert, a pretty nondescript, not that flavorful apple crisp. Again, I didn't think the food was "bad." Everything tasted fresh it was just all so bland.

Oh man, Mark channeling Charlie Sheen, that is

Love the pics of Max with the characters, he looks so happy to see them all. The look on his face is just priceless! Reminds me when I first took my 3 year old niece and the excitement of that just stays with me.

GG is one place that we have never been to and honestly I dont think we ever will...the smell hits me every single time we walk into the Land and I get instantly nauseated.

As a child of the 80's I am just as much in love with Epcot as you are...but Capt Eo is just a sad reminder of the 80's

Cannot wait to see more!

Yeah, I started looking at all of these pictures from the trip and thought, uh-oh...Mark looks like Charlie Sheen! OK, not quite...just the shirts!

GG is one of several places we tried this trip that I will not be beating a path to return to, that's for sure.

Um...Capt EO wasn't even sad...it was SCARY! I might have nightmares of Angelica Houston for the rest of my life.

Tina, I am FINALLY all caught up. Here are some ocmments and I promise from here on out I will be here in a timely fashion.

1) Love the introduction
2) McDonalds -- the breakfast of champions
3) I'm so glad you had an uneventful plane ride and that Max was okay with it and found a friend to play with before boarding
4) Great location of a room in 8B...close to the Dig Site; so glad Max enjoyed the pool
5) Yes, the bus stops do change from time to time at the parks
6) Sorry that Max has not been feeling well and his having surgery. I know this is probably just as hard on you.
7) to the possibility of a July trip
8) Love Max's reaction when seeing Chip (the way to tell the difference is Chip has the dark nose--almost black--like a chocolate "chip"); so the last picture is of Max and Dale. And all of the character photos with Max are absolutely precious. Way to go MAX!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kathy, I'm glad to have you back and in better spirits. Thanks for the compliments. And thanks for the hint on how to remember the difference btwn. Chip and Dale.

So, if we go back in July I am going to be getting pretty creative in terms of where I book because my top priority is going to be getting the best possible deal, while avoiding the Values. Travelocity has some sweet deals going right now, with airfare that's actually considerably cheaper than what we paid to go in February. Point being, I'm going to take what I can get resort-wise.

Yesterday I was looking at a video of POFQ...well, Max went crazy! For him, it is CSR or NOTHING. He's so funny that way. I'd love to know how his little three and a half year-old brain works. I think it has something to do with the theory that kids that little really like repetition. It makes them feel more comfortable. I suppose he will learn to like wherever we end up and just be happy that we're going at all. Of course, that's IF it works out.

 

[glennbo123]

Drat! I've gotten busy and missed a couple of updates and would've gotten those songs. Oh well.

But I enjoyed the updates.

Mark as Charlie Sheen -- Yes! That's who he reminds me of. Of course!

"Winning!"

 

[PirateKate]

You got some great shots of Max with the characters! We went to Garden Grill once. I guess the food wasn't memorable, as I don't really remember it, but the whole meal just felt so slow. The slow rotating and the slow service and the slow characters coming with long intervals in between. Sometimes with kids, it's better to eat fast.

 

[Koda Bear]

Just caught up again!!! We stayed in the cabanas in December and it was amazing - lucky you got pool time in because it was freezing when we went!

My DD had the T&A surgery with ear tubes when she was five and what a difference it made in her life - she had constant ear infections and only one with the tubes in. After about 18 months they pulled the tubes out and she was fine. When she was 10 they ended up putting in another tube in one of her ears because she had so much fluid in her ear but since the surgery when she was five only one ear infection and she is almost 23 now Good luck to you guys on surgery day - will be sending happy thoughts your way!

The food at Garden Grill sure has changed since the last time we ate there which was probably in 2001

 

[tinacaplan]

Drat! I've gotten busy and missed a couple of updates and would've gotten those songs. Oh well.

But I enjoyed the updates.

Mark as Charlie Sheen -- Yes! That's who he reminds me of. Of course!

"Winning!"

Yeah, I mean, the resemblence is STRIKING. Not that I've seen any evidence of tiger blood around here (thankfully!).

You got some great shots of Max with the characters! We went to Garden Grill once. I guess the food wasn't memorable, as I don't really remember it, but the whole meal just felt so slow. The slow rotating and the slow service and the slow characters coming with long intervals in between. Sometimes with kids, it's better to eat fast.

Thank you...I tried...or didn't try that hard. Either way... I would love to take a class in, like, operating a point and shoot for dummies...oh, and how to make you and your loved ones look good in pictures. I think we always look mad.

Just caught up again!!! We stayed in the cabanas in December and it was amazing - lucky you got pool time in because it was freezing when we went!

My DD had the T&A surgery with ear tubes when she was five and what a difference it made in her life - she had constant ear infections and only one with the tubes in. After about 18 months they pulled the tubes out and she was fine. When she was 10 they ended up putting in another tube in one of her ears because she had so much fluid in her ear but since the surgery when she was five only one ear infection and she is almost 23 now Good luck to you guys on surgery day - will be sending happy thoughts your way!

The food at Garden Grill sure has changed since the last time we ate there which was probably in 2001

The Cabanas were wonderful. I was thrilled with our room location. Not sure it could have been much better. And we were incredibly blessed with fantastic weather the whole time we were there.

Thanks for the heads up on the surgery. I'm not freaked out about it, per se, I just want my baby to stop getting sick all the time.

And, yeah, I will not be returning to the Garden Grill anytime soon. The character interaction was wonderful, though.

 

[heathsf]

Great update!! Max looked SO happy with the characters! How awesome

 

[Queenofallthings]

I followed you over from Karin's TR!! I haven't read a word yet but I can't wait to catch up!

 

[annmarieda]

Hmm.. GG food doesn't look as appealing as I would have thought. I am afraid I may have to cross this one off my wish list. Thank you so much for sharing the pics. I helps me out in my planning.

I think though, that even though the food may have been bland.. it sure looks like your experience wasn't! I love that shot of Max. You are right, that is the look all parents hope to see.