Okay, you asked for it. You got it Polymelonmom.
March, march, march.
We seem to be doing a lot of that this trip.
This time we march out through the gates of Lights Motors Action and back down past the Four Corners of Insanity.
And no, were not goin back for Crazy Grown Up Street seconds. We may be stupid but we ain't
that stupid.
The crowd coming out of the stunt show was insane. It was like leaving Main Street after Wishes at MK. Or Epcot after Illuminations. Or MGM after Fantasmic.
You get the idea, right? Everybody hold whatcha got and dont fall down
..
It was at this point that we all look up and watch the dark clouds rolling in above us.
Well, that's just perfect. Great. Because we have big plans again for tonight.
But then again, when do you NOT have major plans at Disneyworld, right? I mean, it's like you've gotta squeeze as much fun as you possibly can out of the trip. No sense in letting two grand go to waste by parkin your fanny in the room and resting, right?
Heck no. Not on my watch.
Carpe Diem.
Or get up offa that thang, as the oh so lovely James Brown would say.
And dance and youll feel betta
.
Anyway, back to what I was saying.
There will be no loitering and resting of the feet this week. We can rest when our vacation is over and we all go back to work, dangit. Because right now, right here, this week, were in Disneyworld. Next week we wont be. Next week well be somewhere
well, thats not Disneyworld. And thats no fun. We gotta live for the now. Be in the moment. We got places to go, things to see. We gotta be out there, movin and shakin and ridin and eatin.
And speaking of eating (or eatin), before we came, I made ADRs for CA Grill for all of us for that Wednesday night.
We were all really looking forward to it. It was going to be the one really special meal of the trip. Well, not that Chef Mickey's or the Princess meals aren't special, but you know what I mean. It was gonna be grown up special.
The other kind of special that doesn't involve autograph books and napkin waving and constant picture taking.
We had never been and we (I) had read so many good reviews about it and had perused the menus (yes, we peruse in Mississippi too) and I must admit, it looked really promising.
We (I) were (was) psyched.
Remember when I told you that I was the super organized one? The Go To Girl in the Planning Department? Well, I was. And I still am I might add. I
did make itineraries after all. Remember? Weve gone over this already.
But really, these werent just your ordinary, run of the mill average itineraries. They not only included the park info for each day, they also included all of our meal information. I included where each ADR was, the time and date, confirmation numbers, and even a running tally of CS credits vs. TS credits broken down by the day.
Mamas good like that.
I didnt figure up snack credits though. Yeah, just call me a rebel.
Anyway, remember I told you earlier that we were paying OOP for three table service meals so we could have more of them? Well, somewhere along the way, I mustve gotten into some fuzzy math, because I had my tallies wrong.
Oh
snap. How can that be?
Counting the meals we had already paid OOP for, we shouldve had enough table service credits to be able to use 2 per person that night at CA Grill and then one per person for each night for the rest of the week.
Nope.
Wrong.
I caught my fuzzy math error the day we are supposed to be dining at CA Grill. Actually, I figured it out on the bus to MGM that morning.
I inform the group of the oversight and put the ball in their court. We could either go ahead to CG and pay OOP for another less expensive TS meal that week or we could try to get an ADR for that night somewhere else that only charges one TS credit per person.
They vote to keep what little cash we have left and slum it at a regular table service restaurant. No signature dining experience for us poor folk.
I call Disney Dining on the way to the park. I tell them we need to cancel CG and book another ADR at a different restaurant for that night.
I wait to hear the friendly voice on the other end of the phone tell me with a smiley, happy voice that my ADR has been cancelled and what more can he do to be of service to me and call me maam and tell me to have a magical day.
Keep in mind that this is that MORNING and our ADR is for supper. Or dinner for you Yankees out there.
The guy tells me that he is sorry but since we booked with a credit card and it is within the 48 hour window, we cannot cancel without our credit card being charged eighty bucks.
Come again?
I half laugh at him. Not full laugh cause Im half ticked. There wasnt enough room in the boat for both, if ya know what I mean.
Youll have to repeat that for me. I must have something wrong with my hearing this morning because I could have SWORE you just said you were going to bill me eighty bucks for a meal that no one would not be partaking of.
Yep. He repeated it and it sounded just the same as before.
Okay, number one
.this is California Grill, not Cinderellas Royal Table. Since when did you start requiring 48 hours cancellation notice for CG? And even more importantly, number two, at what point did I give you my credit card information for this ADR? Cuz I dont think that I did.
He keeps telling me that CG requires a 48 hour cancellation notice and that this was explained to me when I booked, yada yada yada. Now I KNOW full well it wasnt, but I swear the guy was so good and so persistent, he had me halfway thinking it was.
Shake it off. Shake it off.
I am
not crazy. I
know this is the first I have heard of this.
I ask to speak to his supervisor.
I am on hold for a really long time. In fact, the boys rode TOT and RNRC twice while I was waiting for Clueless ADR Guy to find his higher up. Nah, just kidding. But I was on hold forever. Finally, a really nice lady answered and I explained the situation. She was very different from Clueless ADR Guy in that she actually knew what she was doing.
I never gave anyone my credit card number to hold this ADR I tell her.
Youre absolutely right. You didnt. I know you didnt because I dont have it down that you did. I dont know where he got his information but I do NOT have your credit card number to hold this particular ADR. she tells me.
Well good. So I wanna cancel
Thats perfectly fine. Your ADR has been cancelled, Maam.
Well good
.(pause)
Youre not gonna charge me eighty bucks are ya?
No maam. No charges will occur. I dont have your card number for this ADR.
Okay. Good. (another pause) You're sure about that? Can I trust you? Do I need to get that in writing? Whats your name, rank and serial number?
Im happy to report that she was indeed trustworthy. She was very nice and very helpful. She had a nice, smiley happy voice. She called me maam. And told me to have a magical day. I liked her. I really did. Plus she dogged out Clueless ADR Guy so that made us instant friends.
She helped me with another ADR for that night as well. I tried to get into Ohanas. No such luck. Booked solid.
Now, I had been trying to get Ohanas since we first had to change our dates for the trip. I had it the first go round but when we rebooked, I couldnt get in. Again, according to the all knowing DIS and various other inside sources, it was all that and a bag of chips.
I really, really wanted Ohanas. Bad.
I just wanted someone to call us their cousin while they fed us three foot long skewers of shrimp and pineapple with caramel sauce while my kids got to hula hoop and roll some coconuts around. Whatever that means.
But they were booked. Get over it, I tell myself. No skewers for us this trip. No skewers and no Dole Whips.
No skewers. No Dole Whips. No Pluto autographs. No Splash ridin with the boy.
I ask my new friend if there is another restaurant similar to Ohanas that would be good. She suggests Kona Café.
Kona Café?
Kona Café
.Kona Café
.I search the DIS files permanently downloaded into my noggin.
I had read a few things about it on the DIS. But I couldnt remember anything about it except that it was at the Poly and they serve Tonga Toast for breakfast. We dont have a lot of options so I tell her to book it.
We get to the hotel, change and head out to the Poly in the ole family ride.
And yes, we valet. After we hide the Porta Potty. Again, it was empty. Dont judge.
We leave Uncle Jed and Granny back at POR to look for some more bubblin up crude and cook us up some critters.
We hop out. This place is absolutely gorgeous. You gotta hand it to Disney. Their hotels are off the hook.
We loiter around a little and make our way up to the Kona Cafe.
We know we are on the right floor. It should be around here somewhere. Oh, yes, there it
no, no. Thats Ohanas. Thats NOT where we will be dining tonight. We look around some more and our eyes rest on the only other restaurant up on that floor.
But thats not Kona Café, is it? We see the sign but surely thats not it. Surely what we are looking at is a food court, not the highly recommended Kona Café, table service equivalent to Ohanas. I mean, they dont even have walls for Petes sake.
The realization slowly sinks in. Yep. We have arrived. This is it.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Kona Café: the restaurant which is most certainly not cool like Ohanas.
We check out the menu and although the actual restaurant is visually unappealing, the menu is. Hmmmm
sounds
..good. Very good as a matter of fact. Okay, this might work. We check in.
And wait.
And wait. And wait. We waited for a table for an hour. We check periodically just to make sure they havent forgotten us.
I think our problem was our group size. They were waiting for a table big enough for a party of eight to open up. Everyone behind us in line was being seated within about five minutes of checking in.
Heck, at one point, they even grabbed some poor sap off the monorail and shoved him into a seat in front of us just to tick us off.
As we wait, my eyes wander. They wander to the opposite side of the room.
To the Ohanas side.
My eyes wander over to all the people waiting to be called Cousin and fed shrimp on three foot long skewers.
I look them up and down. I size them up. Surely we could take at least
one group. Beat em down and take their ADR. It could happen.
I had Ohana Envy. And I had it bad.
Finally, DH and DHF use the Jedi mind trick again at the podium and convince them to just give us a table. Were not picky. Well take anything. Heck, throw down a pallet and well have a picnic on the floor but just give us some food, dangit.
They can give us a table but we will have to separate. We look at each other and realize we really dont like each other all that much after all so we tell them well take it. We eat our first meal on the trip as separate families.
I was highly skeptical upon entering the building but let me stop right here and say that this place blew us away.
Im not exaggerating. It was truly awesome. It was hands down the best meal of the trip. The food was out of this world. The kids were stoked because they got to order Chicken Noodle Soup for an appetizer. This is the first appetizer they got to order for themselves on the trip. DH got some kind of Lobster bisque (awesome) and I got the Sticky Wings (really awesome). OMG is all I can say. And that was just the appetizer. The entire meal was awesome from start to finish. DS still talks about that Chicken Noodle Soup to this day.
Maybe it was so good because we had to wait so long to get it. Who knows. Well just say the restaurant was good and leave it at that.
I honestly dont think our meal could have been any better at Ohanas. Really I don't.
It all worked out and we left extremely sassified. As we leave, I actually feel sorry for the poor suckers waiting to get into Ohanas. They dont know that one of Disneys best kept secrets is just right across from them. Who needs skewers and some stranger actin like hes your cousin anyway.
But shhhhh, dont tell anybody the secret. We have to be able to get in on our next trip.
The original plan was to eat and then catch the monorail over to the MK for EMH in time for Wishes. But because we had such a long wait, we missed Wishes.
Remember I told you earlier that the clouds were rolling in? Well, as we were eating, it sounded like it was really coming down outside though so I guess it was a good thing it took a long time to eat. Or...was that the fireworks? I can never tell.
After finishing up, we all rolled each other down the hall and got on the monorail and head over to the MK EMH.
We get to MK, get the wristbands at the gates (watch and learn Polymelonmom) and head out for some fun.
We head over to Buzz and unleash the Thundah on that evil emperor Zurg.
No matter how good I think I do on that ride, I always get the Pitiful Shout Out from Zurg. Then I try to shoot him again square in the face as we pass. DH ALWAYS gets the highest rating. Everytime. He kicks butt on Buzz. Guess all that police officer training was good for something, huh?
The citizens of our town can sleep soundly knowing that their streets are being protected by the Big Mack Daddy that defeats an evil emperor on a continual basis.
Earlier in the day, we had asked DD if she wanted to do the Stitch thing. I say thing because Im not really sure its a ride. Its not. Is it? It's not a fastpass I know. Or is it?
DD loves Lilo and Stitch but for some reason, Stitch kinda freaks her out a little.
Okay, so as parents, you know how your children will say something so darn cute that it takes on a life of its own? You and your spouse just repeat it over and over and you make sure you get the correct voice inflection and pitch when you say it. It gets written down in the baby book and you just know it will be repeated for the rest of the childs life. Okay, heres an example. My mom still laughs about a particular time when I was five years old. My grandmother was ironing clothes. I looked up at her and asked her if she was going to take her skin off and iron it too cause it sure was wrinkly. Thats it. That ones mine. I have heard my parents and grandparents talk and laugh about it all my life. It has been with me from that day when I was five and it is a part of me in much the same way as my eye color or that little freckle on my nose.
Well, this was one of those moments.
We ask DD about Stitch and her response went something like this: Okay, you have to picture it with a sweet but prissy head tilt to the side and big drama queen eyes...
I not gon say yes. An I not gon say no. I just gon dink about it.
Okay, granted, it was cuter when she said it. But apparently she dought about and decided to be a rebel and throw caution to the wind.
Thats Mamas girl.
We hop in line. Shorty is still too short. Man, I told her Mama to put some chunky shoes on that girl. When will she realize she needs to heed the advice of the almighty one with the DIS hookup? Oh well. Access denied. They decide to take off over to Fantasyland and say they will meet up with us later.
I know there are a lot of people that do not care for Stitch. Im not sure why. Maybe they compare it to the Alien thing too much. Maybe they just have high expectations. We all know how those can be, right?
I dont know, but we liked it. Not like Soarin liked it, but it was pretty cute. Well, except for the gross chili fries burp smell. But it was cute enough. The kids loved it. They still walk around the house goin CinderELLY, your Prince is here
. and crackin each other up.
Yep, theyre just like their parents. Pathetic. What can ya do? Its in the genes.
From there, we head to Fantasyland and hit Philharmagic, Dumbo, Peter Pan, and Its a Small World.
Somewhere in Fantasyland, we see a Hot Mama tryin to bribe her way to the front of each line with her uhmm
..good looks. She was pushin her three kids wrapped in every illuminated gadget known to Disney around in one stroller and the whole family was wearin Philharmagic glasses. Funny, but she looks strangely familiar.
From there, we decide to hit The Haunted Mansion.
DS is rarin to go on this one. DD is too.
Really she is. She wants to go. I try to discourage her because I know once she gets in there, she will want to come out. I know my child. She can handles coasters, but I know zombies jumping out of graves will
so not be her thing.
She is insistent. She is actually crying to go ON the Haunted Mansion, not the other way around.
Ooooookay, I say. But dont say I didnt warn ya.
We go in the little stretchy room and all of a sudden, I feel one tiny little hand grab my leg.
This is how she stands the entire time were in there. We get in the car and she is still cautiously optimistic. She hops in with me and her eyes are as big as saucers. Shes taking it all in. She is a sponge. She will remember this scene until she is eighteen and out of the house.
Parent of the Year. Yep, thats me.
We happen to be sharing a car with a total stranger. I dont mind it so much when its just me on RNRC but I know the poor guy is in for it on this ride.
With me and the girl.
I feel bad for him.
So here we go. No turning back now. We go along and she is doing okay. She has a death grip on me but still, no crying or gnashing of teeth. Then all of a sudden, the car turns and we are facing that freaky mirror looking screen thing. You know the one. You look at your car and the Creepy Dee guy is sitting right beside you. She freaks.
Absolutely freaks.
I really feel sorry for her and the poor sapsucker that got stuck with us. The rest of the ride was a nightmare. Literally. It finally ended. I apologized to the guy with us. He rolled his eyes and made a beeline for the door. So that was our experience.
She will be eighteen before we ever let her ride again. DH said DS loved it though. Hows that for a change?
From there we head over to Pirates.
Yo ho yo ho a pirate's life for me
..
We move on. It's time to pay the piper. It's time for a lil' Splash.
Well, are ya in or out? DH asks DS. He says he is most definitely out. No way, no how. Nuh uh. Nope. Not gonna do it. DHFDD1 agrees. They are parrots. Neither one of them is going anywhere near that ride.
DS threatens to throw himself down on the ground and do the brick thing again if we get any closer.
My mature husband and his friend for life taunt their offspring with chicken clucks and arm pumps. Ive never been more attracted to him. But the kids are unphased. They are not going. Period.
I tell the guys to go on and I will keep the kids. Meet us back here on the bridge, I say.
Meanwhile, three hours later, they show up.
Just kidding. It wasnt really that long, but it felt like it. By this time, DHFW and Shorty had found us. Were all tired. We wanna go home. Well, you know, the hotel home anyway. The guys finally show up. Something about the ride stopping. Anyway, we head back to the hotel exhausted.
Oh, I just have to throw these pictures in. They weren't really from this night. It was actually from the first night we were at MK only I forgot to post it then.
Or was it? It's dark. There's no date on the pictures. It's MK so you'll never really know, now will ya? Come to think of it, now I'm kind of foggy on the details myself.
Anyway, these were taken on our way out of the park. I think it's called The Kiss Goodnight. Or The Long Kiss Goodbye. Or something about a kiss and a mouse.
'Night Mickey. Love ya. Really mean it.
We were impressed with this EMH. The crowds were really low and it reminded us of the E Nights they used to have. Were those great or what? Twelve bucks and the park was yours for the taking.
We make it back to the hotel and collapse into bed.
Tomorrow is our first scheduled official split up day and we are excited.
We love our friends dearly. We do. We are having a blast with them. But I have to confess we want some family time. Going to Disney with a group can be really fun but I am a firm believer that each family really does need their own time for at least a day or two while youre there.
Disneyworld is just so huge and there are so many different things to see and do. Each person marches to the beat of their own drummer and not everyone wants to do the same thing at the same time.
We are really looking forward to just having a couple of days to be able to do whatever our hearts desire without having to first pass it through a board of eight.
We fall into bed and drift off to sleep. We dream good dreams.
Mostly about Viking ships and fastpasses.
Up Next: Chefs de Fromage
DS might disagree with me though. 
~~~~
Your reports rock! 
) no apps and no deserts, will I live???
