Preggo, pennies, and pastries!!! **FINAL UPDATES 4/25**

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

We loved that tour when we did on on the 4th of July. Great way to break away from the craziness of the park that day. We really enjoyed it. Great review of the tour!

 

[jenseib]

I really am not that into gardening. I like the idea in theory, but I just have never been much of a planter. After hearing you talk about your garden over the summer and seeing how excited Luke got on the tour, I am thinking I might give it a try this spring...

You sound just like me. I have actually tried it a few times and failed because in that hot summer heat, I'm not going to go out and weed (and get bit by buys) and then the crop is crappy too because I don't care of it.

 

[stephielela]

You sound just like me. I have actually tried it a few times and failed because in that hot summer heat, I'm not going to go out and weed (and get bit by buys) and then the crop is crappy too because I don't care of it.

I had forgotten about the heat Maybe an indoor garden...

 

[photographymom517]

Awe, it's great that Luke decided to behave during the tour. It seems to have been a fun tour.

As odd as it is for children his age, Luke seems to enjoy structured activities a lot more than just randomly wondering around. LOL!

It was a really great tour!!! Honestly I wish I could remember more of what the tour guide said. I was so busy taking pictures that I didn't pay attention as much as I should have. But I knew my husband was listening & he could tell me later!

I want to try that tour some day. It's very cool that they let you release lady bugs, although I don't know if my Emma would like that

Emma may be ok with the release of the ladybugs. I'm not sure why (I think they keep them frozen ??) but they don't fly when you release them. Some of them don't even come out, you have to shake the container & sort of dump them out!

I have zero interest in gardening, and really have killed every plant I've owned, but the Behind the Seed tour looks interesting. Doesn't hurt that it's the only affordable one.

Don't feel bad!!! I kill plants too! I am definitely not a flower or plant person...I kill ALL household plants! But I love gardening!!! Not sure why its different outside, maybe because the sun & water do most of the work and I don't have to

Yes, you did write it on the MWT page on facebook.

You got some great pictures from the seeds tour. Super sharp and clear. Skip and Claire took it a few years back, and Skip said so many people were impressed with how good she was too. But I got more details about the tour from you...he told me next to nothing about it. LOL

I thought of Claire & Skip going on that tour whenever I posted the pics! If you want the full size copy of any of them, let me know & I'll email them to you! Might be neat to have for your scrapbook or just to show Claire later if Skip didn't take that many pics!

I think most of the pics I took at the tour were the best from the entire trip!!! It helped that I could use basically the same settings for the entire tour, except for the part that was inside (where the baby alligators & fish are located).

I really am not that into gardening. I like the idea in theory, but I just have never been much of a planter. After hearing you talk about your garden over the summer and seeing how excited Luke got on the tour, I am thinking I might give it a try this spring...

You should definitely try the tour!!! In my opinion, even if you have no interest in gardening, it's fun to learn all the info they tell you. They're basically giving you more info about the Living with the Land ride! Trust me, after you go on the tour, you really look at the ride in a different way. The tour guides are amazing & give you a ton of information!!! They answer questions before moving on to different areas & also give you handouts to take home with you!

Yeah, it doesn't make sense to me, either. My dad is a really adventurous eater (he tried and LOVED haggis in Scotland) so I think I get it from him. I'll seriously try just about anything once just to say I did!

The Behind the Seeds tour looks great, so glad you guys got to do it! I love Living with the Land

Try the veal

I cannot believe you are down to 5 days until your trip!!!!!!

​

Speaking of your dad, you should go on the tour with him! I think he'd enjoy it & maybe it would give him some ideas for his garden!

We loved that tour when we did on on the 4th of July. Great way to break away from the craziness of the park that day. We really enjoyed it. Great review of the tour!

That's really good timing for a tour! I'll have to keep that in mind for the future! If we ever go during a super busy time, I can totally see a tour being a little getaway from all the people!!!

You sound just like me. I have actually tried it a few times and failed because in that hot summer heat, I'm not going to go out and weed (and get bit by buys) and then the crop is crappy too because I don't care of it.

I had forgotten about the heat Maybe an indoor garden...

You guys are hysterical!! You should both give gardening another try!

And actually, it may not even be your fault if your gardens won't grow! We used to grow zucchini when we lived in town & we cannot grow it at all now that we live in the country. And my MIL lives 2 miles down the road and grows a TON of zucchini!!! I've talked to a lot of people about it & they all claim its because we have different soil.

 

[Stefy]

Happy New Year to you guys, may 2012 bring you lots more joy and happiness

Great update, that tour looked like lots of fun, really interesting Looks like Luke really enjoyed it too and its great that the other guests and CM were including him in everything

 

[photographymom517]

Happy New Year to you guys, may 2012 bring you lots more joy and happiness

Great update, that tour looked like lots of fun, really interesting Looks like Luke really enjoyed it too and its great that the other guests and CM were including him in everything

Thanks!!! Happy New Year to you as well!

We really enjoyed the Behind the Seeds Tour! Writing my update actually made me want to do it again! It's one of the few tours that we are able to do with the kids, so chances are we will do it again before trying another tour!

Everyone was soooo friendly with Luke and included him & I thought that was very sweet of them!

 

[photographymom517]

First of all, before I begin the next portion of my Epcot update, I just wanted to let you know that I updated my Table of Contents this morning. FINALLY!!!

Also if you've noticed, I also added a vacation ticker to my signature! This may be completely crazy but we do NOT have a vacation scheduled. Of course, as a Travel Agent, I work on quotes all the time for family, friends, and clients. So I'm also always looking into trips for myself! With the winter months approaching, I've found myself missing the FL weather more than ever!!! (although I am thoroughly enjoying the mild winter we've had so far!!!) I also have been very uncomfortable the past month or so with the pregnancy. It is hard to sleep, my appetite is completely gone, my sinuses have been horrible this fall/winter, and I hate not being able to do "normal things" that I used to take for granted! Simple little tasks are harder now just because my huge tummy gets in the way! Enough about that, I do not plan to spend this update whining! I am just very, very anxious for my little one to arrive!!! I cannot wait to hold him & bring him home

Between the winter and our discussion about not going to Disney again until "at least" the Fall of 2013 or Summer of 2014, I decided to make a "Dream Ticker" -- so that is what you see!!! Depending on how busy I am after the baby arrives, I may occasionally post Disney related updates and pictures just to keep a PTR going, but we will see! Regardless, you know I will definitely be planning lots of events for my little one's very first trip to Disney!!! And I will notify you all when a "real" PTR begins for that trip!!!

And now, continuing our day at Epcot . . . . .

 

[photographymom517]

When I last left off, we had finished the Behind the Seeds Tour and were walking over to The Seas Pavilion.

There was only a five minute wait for Nemo, which basically means a walk-on, so we listened to the seagulls for a few moments and then got in line.

Luke LOVED them & later he would imitate them over & over again -- it was too cute!!! Somewhere I have a video, not sure if its on my cell or my regular camera. I really need to organize & share my videos (anyone know of a free website you can use to keep videos private -- I don't like posting Luke-related videos on YouTube since anyone can see them).

When I was planning our trip, I figured that we would spend a lot of time in The Sea Pavilion looking at the aquariums. Luke really enjoyed it last trip & he always makes me stop to look at the fish at Walmart or the pet store. To my surprise, he didn't have any interest in watching the fish. We looked at the bigger aquariums for maybe 3 minutes and moved on to this area.

He was sooooo excited to "find Nemo" that he wouldn't leave this area!!! I think we stood here for over half an hour watching all the little Nemos swimming around! It was fine with me because it was important to me to spend time doing things for everyone & this is what he wanted to do!

We didn't really have any plans until our dinner reservation, so we decided to just walk around Future World. We LOVE World Showcase and with our convenient resort location at The Beach Club, we knew we'd probably spend many evenings at WS!

We had never been to Club Cool before I have NO idea how I've managed to skip it especially considering that I always use the restrooms in between Club Cool and Epcot Character Spot. It is also a tradition for us to stop for ice cream at Fountainview every single trip & of course we have pics taken at Character Spot every trip!!! Like I said, not sure how we've missed it, but it was on our "Must Do List" for this trip!

First I tricked everyone into trying "Beverly" -- and sadly I cannot find the pictures! It's probably slightly cruel to trick a poor innocent 3 year old into trying it, but he actually ASKED TO try it!!! After he saw my DH try it, of course he wanted it too. I remember it was hilarious watching the look on his face. He didn't say anything & continued to drink it until my DH and I both said "EWWW!" and then Luke repeated us, said "EWWW" and then told me he didn't want anymore!

Remember these three drinks! Every single time during the trip when we would stop by Club Cool, Luke would ask for the same ones! He remembered which ones they were on the machine & would point at them & show us where to put them on his stroller tray. The one he picked was pretty good and the other two were gross (just mommy's opinion of course!!!) He loved all three of these!

Also, notice he's still wearing his name tag! He felt very important having his name on his shirt. If a CM or another guest would ask what his name was, he would tell them & then point to his shirt & tell them he's wearing a name tag! I guess you had to be there -- but it was cute!!!

Look at those beautiful white clouds and clear blue sky!!!

The crowd levels were amazing today at Epcot!!! A nice change from the previous night at MK!!!

At this point, we were thirsty & hungry -- but we knew we had an upcoming dinner reservation so we just wanted something small. We spotted a little cart with a huge line, but it was moving fast.

We each got our very first Mickey bar!!! Yes, our very FIRST Mickey bars!!!

Thank you to Michelle (SoonerGirl) for asking Justin and Jared about them -- had you not told me they still taste just like Dove bars, I may not have had one this trip either! So I am giving credit to you!!! I know there have been rumors that Disney changed them, so I was happy to hear they are still Dove bars!!!

Luke loved it & he proudly showed me how he ate Mickey's ears off!

They were melting very quickly, but it wasn't a problem to finish them quickly! We all LOVE Dove bars!!! We had been sitting right outside of Mousegears on a bench but there was a terrible issue with Florida's love-bugs during our trip. All of the benches in this area were also completely in the sun. So we decided to continue walking & sit down on the ledge by the fountain.

We still had some time before dinner, but not enough time to walk to another pavilion to ride something. While we were sitting there, I spotted Daisy!!!! I was soooo excited! I have NEVER seen her before -- well I've seen her out with Donald but never without a huuuuuge line! There were only two families waiting and unfortunately no PhotoPass photographer. I asked Luke if he wanted to go with me, but he said no so I didn't push it. I knew we had a Character Meal scheduled soon & I wanted him to be in a good mood for it so we could all enjoy it.

The CM took an awesome picture!!!

Standing beside Daisy was Stitch -- another character I have never gotten a picture with before!!!

I went back over to the fountain & was thrilled that I had gotten pictures taken with two characters I had never seen before and with NO line at all!!! I know most people go to Disney to ride the thrill rides & go-go-go until they drop! But I could seriously spend an entire week just seeing the characters, walking around the WS pavilions, eating, and shopping!!! My favorite part of Disney is the magical feeling you get -- and whatever creates that feeling is what you should spend your trip doing!!! Just my personal opinion of course!

Next up -- Our Dinner Reservation!!!

 

[photographymom517]

After relaxing by the fountain & discussing our evening plans, we decided to head back to our destination!

We checked in for our ADR about 25-30 minutes early. I was worried we'd just have to wait longer, but I figured it didn't hurt to ask. We had pretty good luck with ADR's and walk-ins so far! To my surprise, I went up to check-in and they said it would be a 10 minute wait at the most!

All of the benches in the "waiting area" were completely full. They have quite a few benches there too -- I believe there are two side-by-side in three or four rows and then two benches in the back corner and one in the front. PLENTY of seating -- but all full! It wasn't a huge deal to us because our wait wasn't long. They had a few games & toys beside the benches to keep kids occupied while they waited so Luke played with the other kids & also made a couple pressed pennies.

Right beside the Garden Grill, they have restrooms and a pressed penny machine, just for reference in case anyone needs to know!

Our wait was around 15 minutes, but it seemed to go quickly. As soon as we sat down at our table, I took a picture of our menu! Garden Grill is a Family-Style Dinner, which means they bring out one large tray of food & refill it as often as you'd like.

First, our waiter came to the table & introduced himself. He was VERY friendly & promptly refilled anything we needed throughout the meal. He took our drink orders & returned quickly with them, salad, and bread.

I was worried I would fill up on salad so I tried not to eat a lot. My DH does not eat salad and the dressing was already on it so I knew Luke wouldn't eat it. Luke will pick certain things out of salad (like tomatoes, carrots, Crutons, or cucumbers) but he will not eat them once the dressing is on it. I didn't think to ask the waiter to bring the dressing on the side but it wasn't a huge deal. I noted it for next trip, but who knows by then maybe he'll just eat dressing!

Our basket of rolls & the delicious butter!!! I apologize because 3-4 of the rolls are missing from the basket! The rolls were warm & so delicious that we ate most of them before I remembered to take a picture. When the waiter refilled the basket, we were in the middle of eating so I didn't take a pic again -- but there were two kinds. The one kind had the seeds on top and I believe they were wheat or whole grain. The other kind were just regular dinner rolls. I shouldn't say "just regular" because they were seriously the BEST rolls I've ever eaten.

It was sooooo good!!! The butter had maple in it!

At all of the Family Style Meals, they bring out a separate dish for the children. The kids meal includes the following:

* Oven Roasted Chicken Drumstick
* Baked Macaroni and Cheese
* Broccoli
* Crispy Sweet Potato Sticks
* Dessert: Mickey "Mousse" Cookies and Cream​

I remember the waiter being extremely accommodating and making sure these options were ok for Luke. I thought it was very nice of him to double check instead of just bringing out a meal for him!

Right after the waiter checked with us about Luke's meal, the characters began making their rounds! I had no idea what to expect. As of this point, Luke didn't want anything to do with characters. I had my picture taken alone with Aurora, Marie, Belle, Daisy AND Stitch. So far, Luke didn't get ANY pictures taken with characters. I was worried he would freak out when one approached the table, but he was yelling "Mommy look there's Chip!!!! And Dale!!! And Farmer Mickey!!! Where did Pluto go???"

I explained to him that each character would stop at the table right in front of ours & see the kids. Then they would come over to see him. He told me that he was going to kiss their noses and hug them

(I apologize that some of the pictures are dark -- I haven't fixed them in Photoshop Elements yet. I just wanted to get updates posted so I uploaded them prior to fixing them.)

Luke was soooo thrilled to see Chip!!! He shook his hand, hugged him, and then posed for a picture!!!

Right after Chip left our table, our waiter brought our food! YUM!!!!

Left to Right:
* Fish of the Day with Sweet Tomato & Chutney Sauce (this sauce comes already ON the fish)
* Filet of Beef with Red Wine Butter (there were also plain cranberries on the platter)
* Fresh Vegetables (not pictured)
* Cranberry-Orange Relish
* Roasted Turkey Breast
* Mashed Potatoes​

This is Luke's meal (minus the large chicken leg)

Because he was already eating it!

He LOVES chicken and I was glad to see an alternative to chicken nuggets! I was surprised he didn't eat more of the Sweet Potato Fries -- he usually loves sweet potatoes & I liked this alternative instead of regular french fries! My DH ended up eating most of them. As you can see from Luke's plate, only one tiny piece of broccoli is left. He loves broccoli & asks for it anytime its offered at a restaurant! They gave him a large portion -- about 6 large pieces and this is all that was left by the time I took a pic of his plate!!!

Luke ate about half the chicken leg before our next character approached the table!

Farmer Mickey was followed by Dale and then Pluto

Pluto ended up being Luke's favorite character during our trip!!! Because of this, I was very glad when Pluto stayed at the table for awhile interacting with Luke! Luke pointed at his whiskers & nose and asked me why he had them. Then he kissed his nose and gave him a huge hug!!!

We honestly had a lot of "not so good moments" during this trip -- but looking at pictures like this truly still make my heart melt when I look at them!!! THIS is what makes a vacation special!!!

Luke STILL talks about this meal all the time! It was one of our best memories of the entire trip! He calls it the "eating ride" because he noticed about half-way through the meal that the restaurant was spinning!

As you can see, after all of the characters made their rounds, they took a break to let the guests eat their meals & then they all went around the restaurant again. We saw them each twice, I believe we saw Chip and Pluto three times. I never felt rushed with the characters & I think they gave the guests plenty of time to eat in between character greetings!

Luke's dessert

Our dessert (we EACH got one of these!) It's a Harvest Fruit Crisp with Hand-Whipped Vanilla Bean Cream. The cream was soooo good -- it's hard to describe but its in between an ice cream and a whipped topping if that makes sense.

Overall review of the restaurant & experience:

Our waiter came around multiple times refilling our drinks, rolls, and dinner. He always would ask us when we ordered more meat if we wanted more sauce or veggies to go with it. The refills were large portions & we were very happy with our service & our meal. Out of the entire trip, I tipped this waiter the most! He was wonderful!!!! Very friendly and always around if you needed anything -- but I never needed to ask for anything because he always checked with us before I had the chance! Awesome service!!!

As I said, we saw each character at least two times. The characters didn't rush through the tables, they really took their time with each child. The table before us had 3 children and an infant and I watched each character take time with EACH child. I thought it was nice of them to interact with each person instead of just each table as a whole. The restaurant was also packed -- barely any empty tables -- so it was definitely during a busy dinner timeframe & they still didn't rush!

I truly recommend this meal!!!! It's on our list for our next trip and perhaps EVERY trip after that!

 

[photographymom517]

After our meal, we walked over to The Imagination Pavilion where I ended up learning something new! When we entered the pavilion, there was only a 5 minute wait (walk-on) and we were almost the very last people they allowed to enter! I had NO idea this pavilion closes earlier than Future World. I just assumed all of FW closed at the same time, but the entire week, The Imagination Pavilion closed around 7pm!!

This picture is horrible! I really wanted to attempt to get good pics of the upside down house, but as you can see, my attempt didn't work out after all!

We then headed over towards World Showcase. We thought that we would explore a few pavilions and then find a spot to watch Illuminations! The Canada Pavilion was under construction throughout our entire trip & this is all the further guests were allowed to go.

We took turns pushing Luke's stroller around the gift shop while the other called home.

After this, I put my camera away for the evening. We continued walking & ended up in the United Kingdom. We bought Luke a set of drum sticks with the UK flag on them in the gift shop & had a picture taken with Tigger & Pooh. I was disappointed with this picture. It seemed that the CM's were just rushing to get through guests since they didn't have much of a line & it was almost time for the park to close. When people look at it, I make a comment about something being wrong with gravity that night & tilt my head to the side to see it!

We watched Illuminations right in front of France in the area between the International Gateway and the bridge. It was fairly crowded there but not bad considering we didn't find a spot until about 10 minutes before the show started!!!

Luke sat in his stroller the entire time watching the fireworks beside his dad while I took a video. We left the park right after Illuminations was over & we were actually very surprised that the crowds weren't crazy on our way out!

And don't forget about our "room situation!" Now we had to walk back to the Beach Club, see if our other room was ready, and unpack AGAIN!

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

I have been a little MIA on the dis lately Hope. So, thanks to your links I am all caught up on your trip.

Oh my, what a horrible experience at the Beach Club with your "not so friendly" neighbors! I am not sure I could have stood it all night long. Glad you were able to get another room in the morning.

I had no idea that all the cast members stood in front of their country when the world showcase opened. That would be neat to see. We might have to do that in April.

I the International Gateway. We experienced it for the first time in Thanksgiving. It is so handy and neat to walk in that way.

Love your pictures from the Behind the Seeds tour. I always think we will do this but I never book it. I think I will have to in April. Jeremy would definitely enjoy it.

So glad you liked the Garden Grill. Love the pictures of Luke with the characters.

 

[photographymom517]

By the time we arrived back at the resort, Luke was sleeping in his stroller. We were just keeping our fingers crossed at this point that our new room was a good one!

In addition to the loud couple next door, we had to go down a million hallways & turn left and then right and then right again and then left and then go straight and then turn right -- you get the picture!!! It was super confusing to get to/from the main elevators from the old room, so I was hoping our new room would be more "centrally located." One of us usually runs downstairs in the morning to fill up our mugs or grab breakfast to eat in the room & we usually fill our mugs up again at the end of each day. So we were hoping our new room would be easier to find from the elevators!

We went upstairs to the 4th floor

Inside of the elevator

Obviously I didn't take these pictures that night, but this is what we saw as we walked down the hallways to our new room! I could tell by looking out the window that our view was much better than the pathway-to-nowhere that we saw before!!!

Straight down to the end of one long hallway . . .

Past this little area . . .

Down a little hallway . . .

And we're HERE!!!!

Our new room was honestly so easy to get to from the elevators that Luke even figured it out after going back & forth twice!!!

We walked in & I immediately began to take pictures. We were thrilled with the new room & had a Mickey towel waiting for us on the bed!

I apologize for the color -- I took these at night on my cell & didn't get the best shots. I figured I would just take more pics later but never did & like I said, I haven't fixed any of these pics yet.

This room was set-up opposite of the first room. When we walked into the room, the bathroom and beds were on the left and the drawers/closet, dresser, and desk were on the right. We also had a full balcony with two chairs, a table, and a beautiful view! Instead of the large couch, we only had a small empty area with a coat rack. I was disappointed at first because I really loved the couch we had a few years ago at AKL, but this ended up working out perfectly!!! I parked the stroller here every night & hung our wet clothes on the coat rack!!!

Our view

I was in shock that they upgraded us to a Water View!!! It was a very pleasant surprise!!!

We also got another surprise (well at this point, we were used to the love-bugs so it really wasn't that big of a shock!) I wish I would've taken more pics/better pics because this seriously doesn't do it justice! They were EVERYWHERE!!! I used an entire roll of toilet paper cleaning them up! Yes, after that long day at the parks & even knowing I still had to unpack, I went out on the balcony & got rid of every single one that I could find. They were on our curtains, coming in underneath the door, and on the glass doors. I killed as many as I could inside the room & then went outside to clean the rest. (I smashed them with toilet paper, put them in a grocery bag, tied it shut, and put it in our garbage can)

After unpacking a few outfits for each of us & getting our park bag packed for the next day, I put the suitcases in the closet & figured I'd unpack the next day. I think I went to bed around 12:30 midnight.

 

[photographymom517]

We woke up the next morning, after getting a (very much needed) good night's sleep, to this beautiful view!!!

We decided to stop downstairs at The Marketplace to fill up our refillable mugs before heading over to the Conference Center at the Yacht Club. I had a package to pick up from my good friend, Stephanie (Stephielela)!!!

I guess I forgot to mention that as well -- but we purchased our refillable mugs the night before at Hurricane Hannas after we walked over to the BC from Epcot. I was surprised they were still open after Illuminations.

At most of the resorts, if you send yourself a package or if someone else sends a package to you, they will hold it at the Front Desk. If you have followed my previous reports, you remember that I shipped a box to myself full of baby supplies back in 2009 to AKL. You simply write the resort name, your name with your arrival date, and the resort address on the shipping label. The Front Desk will hold your package & will even "attach it" to your reservation! Super simple!!!

However, if it's a resort that has a conference center, they actually deliver the package to the Conference Center and you have to pick it up there. Also, make sure to take some cash with you because they charge you a $3 fee. I think its a fee that UPS charges them. No biggie at all but its good to know in advance. It's still a simple process & didn't take more than 10 minutes all together. The CM's working there were super nice & even gave me some candy because I mentioned my throat was bothering me. They gave me some great tips as well -- like suggesting I grab a packet of honey and drink lots of water. They even told me where I could get packets of honey but of course I forget now!

My only concern (for those of you sending packages to family/friends as a surprise) is that had Stephanie not told me she sent a package, I wouldn't have ever known. The resort does NOT notify you that a package is waiting for you at the Conference Center. I had to inquire about it at the Front Desk, they had to call the CC and ask if it was there, and then gave me directions to pick it up.

I'm very happy I had this experience because I do send gifts to clients & also to family & friends traveling to Disney! I like to make up my own gifts instead of going through Disney's Florist (their prices are higher, their delivery charges are usually higher than shipping fees I pay, and I like to make it more personalized!) Now I know for future reference to always notify anyone I send a package to once they're on property that a gift is waiting for them at the Conference Center (if its at one of those resorts). And I'm glad I have the info to pass along to you now as well!

The Conference Center is located right across a little roadway from the BC bus stops! (It looks very complicated on their map but its easy!)

You walk out the "Front Entrance"

Across this bridge

Past the bus stops

Across a small sidewalk & small "CM Entrance area" -- and you will arrive at the Conference Center. I know I have a picture of the outside of it somewhere! I wish they had told me to use the main entrance. I entered from the side since we walked there from the bus stops & right through a job fair! Oops!!! Luckily the employers were still setting up & it hadn't started yet -- no one minded I was walking through there & a CM told me to just walk through to the Main Desk!!!

This is looking towards the very large "main room" where the job fair was located. Off the main room they had five or six other events also going on! I noticed one room decorated similar to the AEP Graduation some of my fellow co-workers attended a month before my trip!!! They must have had another AEP or CM event going on here! (anyone know??)

The Conference Center was beautiful! If you enter the main entrance, directly to your right, there is a Main/Front Desk area. Literally right around the corner from the desk is a small hallway & that is where the package pick-up area is located. After picking up my package, I headed back out of the building and we walked back over to the BC. It was really nice to just have a relaxing walk first thing in the morning while we drank our morning drink/coffee (I'm the only one who drinks coffee -- I think my DH had hot chocolate and Luke had Sprite).

Since today was our DHS day, instead of waiting at the bus stops, we needed to go out the opposite side of the resort & head towards the boat dock!

My DH took our refillable mugs and the package up to the room while Luke & I headed to the dock. We didn't make it far because Luke wanted his dad to push him instead of me & he made sure to tell me so! I just took some pictures while we waited for him.

My DH quickly caught up to us & we walked down the dock as a boat was just approaching!!! Great timing!!!

 

[JAMIESMITH]

I'm so glad you were able to get a good night's sleep in your new room. That is an amazing view! I thought little boys were supposed to be all about their Mamas, my little girl is all about her Daddy, too!

 

[photographymom517]

I had thought we just filled up our mugs and walked over to the Conference Center, but I just found more pictures from the morning! Oops! I have no idea why but when I uploaded my pictures, the website put them in a completely random order.

Apparently, we sat on the balcony for awhile enjoying our beautiful view and then walked downstairs to the Marketplace. We then got a light breakfast and filled up our mugs. Luke got a muffin, lollipops and a Sprite.

I got apples with caramel & I think my husband got a donut or muffin.

(Then we walked over to the Conference Center, back to the BC, and then to the dock)

Continuing on...

I LOVE the boat ride over to DHS! The boat was almost entirely empty at this point! A lot more guests got on at the Swan/Dolphin stop, but it was still pretty empty. I was hoping DHS would be empty too!

We arrived at DHS & began walking into the park!

The long lines over at the left-hand side are the bag check lines. Not sure why but I HATE the bag checks at DHS -- they always take forever & are always the longest lines out of any of the parks (in my experience anyway).

Usually since I have the park bag, I wait in the line and my husband takes Luke through the gate with his stroller. This was Luke's first trip with his own KTTW card so we had to make sure they had Luke's card with them every morning. They entered the gates & waited for me inside. It didn't take as long as I thought it would.

We were on a mission to get Fast Passes for TSMM!!! Long story short -- yes we got FP's and we were even standing in the stand-by line to ride. I even changed our ADR time from 11:30 to 3pm. But Luke completely freaked out, worse than any tantrum he's ever had, and we had to leave the line. My DH rode while I left via an emergency exit & took Luke to the bathroom to calm down. Since I'm home with him everyday, I assumed I could calm him down easier. He freaked out in the bathroom as well & accidentally hit his face on one of the metal paper towel dispensers. At this point, I started crying because I thought he was hurt worse than he was & I was upset because he was so hysterical. It was breaking my heart because I wanted him to have a good trip. We went into the handicap stall where there was more room & I sat in his stroller & just rocked him & held him until he stopped crying. I also had to hold a cold cloth on his face -- and luckily I had brought my first aid kit in my park bag! I put a little antibiotic cream on it & after we both stopped crying, we went outside to find his dad.

This is a picture from later in the trip. If you look at his left eye, you can see the mark left by the paper towel dispenser. It looked similar to a brush-burn & wasn't as bad as I thought. But everytime I looked at it the rest of the trip, I thought of our TSMM experience & it just made me so sad.

We briefly talked about possibly calling the airline to get a flight home. At this point, we had so many "moments" that we weren't sure it was worth it to stay. We decided to finish the day & discuss it later once we were back at the resort & could look at the flight prices/times/etc.

Since we felt so bad for Luke, we decided to take him to the HISTK play area. We remembered how much fun he had last year & we were hoping he would enjoy it this time. He LOVED climbing on the spider's web and playing in the water!!!

We stayed there for about an hour & then decided to go to One Man's Dream. My husband & I both love the display but we knew there was no way Luke would agree to watch the movie. It wasn't a huge deal because we needed to head to our lunch ADR afterwards.

Luke wasn't thrilled with this. He enjoyed walking through it last year & we even watched the movie, but this year he just wanted to leave. I think this was the only part he liked. He loved seeing some of our favorite Disney characters on these posters & also the replicas of the parks.

Prior to our trip, Luke had never heard of or seen Wall-E but he LOVED anything we saw about him throughout the trip. He even asked me to take these pics!

To Be Continued . . .
Do we stay at DHS for our lunch ADR or head back to the resort ??
Do we stay at Disney for the entire 10 day period or do we go home early ??

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

Oh no, poor Luke! I hope things got better for him.

Ooo, I have never seen the "love" bugs before! Very gross.

Yay for a water view!

 

[JAMIESMITH]

You can't let a grumpy kid cut your trip short!!!

 

[Tink9721]

Sorry in advance for this long post

I always volunteer to go fill our mugs at the end of the day. Almost every time we've stayed at the Wilderness Lodge we've been on the first floor. I don't know if you've been to WL but if you go through the lobby and walk down by the gift shop there's a little hallway back there. Our room for at least 3 trips was somewhere down that hallway. I would always go out one of the side doors and walk outside by the pool and then go in the door near Roaring Forks to fill the mugs. I looove taking a nice peaceful walk outside WL at night.

I'm so happy to have a ticker again! I really didn't think we'd go this year. This is the first time my mom has wanted to go as badly as me I don't know if you saw me talking about this on MeMom and Jill's report but we're having problems with my grandma. Long story short, she fell and went to a nursing home for 3 weeks and is now back at home. She's the most stubborn person in the world and was NOT happy about being in the nursing home. She's also not happy about the new rules she has at home, mainly the no stove rule. We have to take care of her dinner until meals on wheels starts(4 week waiting period ) Needless to say my mom is stressed out. She got a week and a half off for Christmas but she wants to have a real vacation so she's really looking forward to our trip! We leave 9 weeks from today!

I'm sorry about Luke Obviously I'm not a parent but I babysit my almost 3 year old cousin about 4 times a week. Usually he's really good but there have been a couple days where he's flipped out. Actually the other day he got mad when his dad came to pick him up because he didn't want to leave Apparently he talks about me all the time and loves coming to my house

I can't believe how close your due date is! I know three people, including you, who are all pregnant with boys and due within a month of each other We have a family friend expecting her first baby the same week as you. And my second cousin is pregnant with her second boy, due either the end of Feb I think

 

[ronnmel]

Wow, you sure write a lot when you update!

I'm glad Luke (and you) had such a great time at Garden Grill.

Daisy and Stitch were also close to the fountain when we went. I met Daisy, but had already seen Stitch twice. Still, I almost went to see him anyway because I felt bad that he was alone. By the time I was done meeting Daisy another family was with Stitch, so I felt better for him and left.

What a great view you guys had. It's nice that they upgraded you to such a beautiful room/view after the trouble you went through.

Hope things got better for Luke.

 

[stephielela]

Thanks for the awesome GG review! I really want to eat there next time around (with Jack). The food looks really good.

I was so glad when you told me you got a much better room/location/view. You guys deserved it after the first room experience!

I'm still irritated by the fee for the package. Especially since I think I called to verify the address and no one mentioned it to me. Ugh. Rant over.

It's ironic, Jack has a mark much like Luke's on his eye after he bumped it on a bus rail. Boys will find a way to hurt themselves no matter what! I'm sorry the beginning of the trip was full of so many "moments". I know it can be hard. It's just such a slap in the face when you are in such a perfect place and nothing is going right! I certainly hope it got better...