Resorts, Relatives & Restaurants - and a 3 day cruise!

[Cory's Gal]

Yeah, caught up after a busy week! Love all the Photopass pictures Sheree! The MVMCP looked like a lot of fun, especially that parade!! We love taking the boat from DHS to the Beach Club and walking into Epcot through the "back door"!! After reading your TR I did book Kona for lunch for our trip in April! I checked out the menu and there is so much on the menu that looks so good!!!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Actually... I did check on airfare from Houston to Minn in Feb....$332 every time I plugged in!!!! I was thinking around $200...but NO!!! i will keep checking... I think it would be a blast!!!

You just let me know when you're coming. I'll be here, ready to take you to Mall of America!!

Your Crystal Palace dinner sounded great; you got really good character interaction! Glad you enjoyed the MVMCP, even though it sounds like it was crowded. You had 6 pins to chose from? They only had 2 on the 13th; I guess they sold out?

Love the Beach Club, but we never made it over to see their Christmas decorations. Maybe next time!

It was so much fun! I guess MVMCP has a lot to offer, sort of depending on what you want - easy walk on rides, characters, shows, but the fireworks and parade really were it for me! If I went later in Dec, I might not go to the party b/c they have those all the time when the parties are done. DH did go a little crazy on the pins! Beach Club was so cool!! DH wants to stay there!

Ah!!!! I want to come too!!!!

Sheree-I love your latest update. The pic with Shawna is so cute!!! I'm so jealous that your girls got to meet Marie. She has been one of Maddie's favorties since she was just a baby. She has a very worn out Marie stuffed animal to prove it. Can't wait to hear more!

Come on over!! Us with all these girls would have a blast!! Marie was so cute! I never knew she was at the parks before. Update coming up tonight!

That is hilarious!!!

It was pretty funny. DH was saying, go ask her if she's a DISer! She probably wondered why I was staring at her!

Yeah, caught up after a busy week! Love all the Photopass pictures Sheree! The MVMCP looked like a lot of fun, especially that parade!! We love taking the boat from DHS to the Beach Club and walking into Epcot through the "back door"!! After reading your TR I did book Kona for lunch for our trip in April! I checked out the menu and there is so much on the menu that looks so good!!!

Thanks! I hope you enjoy Kona!! I highly recommend the wings!!


We interrupt your regularly scheduled TR to bring you a SPECIAL DISMEET REPORT!
Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting Northern Disney Girl (Kim) and her family at the Mall of America! My family was supposed to go, but the girls had a little stomach bug that had them down on the couch for the day. I sure didn't want to give Kim's family some bug before their trip. They came down from Thunder Bay Ontario to Minneapolis to fly to WDW. They drove down and spent the night near the airport. They will do the same on the way home, so we are hoping to have dinner together next Monday night befor they head back to Canada.
Her DH was nice enough to take pics with my camera too. They are the sweetest family, even giving little gifts to my girls! Little Natalie hugged me like she'd known me for years!!

Natalie had just gotten WallE at the Disney Store! Notice I was wearing my Canada shirt in their honor!!

NOW BACK TO YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED TR...

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Okay, I left off where we had met some fun characters and we made our way to Japan where we had 5:20 reservations at Teppan Edo. That place was packed!!! There was an elevator for the wheelchair and scooter, but it was small, I think they may have gone up one at a time.
I checked us in, and we had to wait until 5:35 to get seated. We had 8 of us at one table and 4 at another, right next to it. Sarah opted to sit with her Auntie Donna, so DH, Paige and I sat with Ross at the second table. Another couple and two women were also seated with us. The other couple was on one end, and they looked like they knew what they were doing, by the way they ordered, used their chopsticks etc. The lady sitting next to DH was friendly and talkative.
We had a great chef - very entertaining and funny. He asked us to play him in tic tac toe on the grill with veggies and if we beat him he would do the onion volcano. I have a feeling he would have anyway, but it was fun. Paige and I played him and we WON!! Paige was pretty psyched. We play a tic tac toe game on my phone a lot while waiting around, so she was pretty good at it!

We were the Os!!

We really enjoyed our food. I can't remember what we all had, I think I had scallops, DH had filet and the girls chicken. We had the ginger cake and that was good too! The kids had fun trying chopsticks (they taped them together for the kids to use!) We'd definitely go back here. Of course, we had never been to any Japanese steak houses near home before, so it was new to us. Others say it's no better than the ones everywhere. I dispute that. Everything tastes better at Disney, doesn't it???
We used 4 TS credits and went on our way! We lost an aunt and child or two shopping for a bit, but gathered up and headed over to the American pavillion. I wanted to see if we could hear or see some of the Candlelight Processional. There was a long line of people waiting. We just walked over and stood at the back and watched/listened for a while. It was beautiful!!! You can definitely hear it on the walkway.
We had some photopass pics taken by the big tree outside the American pavillion. I am bummed we didn't go inside though. It's been a long time since I've been in there.
More photos in next post...

 

[Mndisneygirl]

This was about the only picture of all 12 of us. Even with some eyes closed, mouths open...The photog had us all say something and that's why we have open mouths. Oh well!!!
After we listened to CP for a while, we got a funnel cake to share (yum!) and wandered over toward Mexico to stake out a spot for Illuminations! First we went for a ride with Donald on the Gran Fiesta (walk on!).
Then we sat next to the Cantina toward Norway and strategically parked the scooter and wheelchair. Some kid tried to edge in, but we wouldn't let him. A nice couple came and sat by us. They were honeymooners, I think from Honduras. We visited with them a while and I got a strawberry margarita ($9.58 with tax!!!) to pass the time.
Holiday Illuminations was really cool. They had a lovely piece about Peace on Earth. My pictures don't really do it justice, but having a new camera with a fireworks setting sure helped. We hadn't seen the show last trip in Jan, so I was glad we got to see it this time!

Quite a lot of scooters!!

Illuminations was so cool!! (oops, this was supposed to be rotated!!) That's me with the blue backpack. See my LGMH???
We made our way out to the monorail and of course, there was a problem with that, so we had to wait a LONG time!!!

When we got back to the room, we were able to get a nice view ...

This is zoomed in a ways.

This is not...

All in all, it was a great day! We saw a lot of stuff!
We went to bed about 11:30 and were planning to hit Epcot the next morning.

 

[ladybugmom]

Yay for another DIS meet!!! TE looks like a fun meal! Glad ya'll enjoyed it!! Illuminations looks AMAZING!! I can't wait to see this in May--it was rained out last May. I just love the WS all lit up at night! It is sooo beautiful!

 

[Charleston Princess]

We've never had a chef at Teppan Edo play tic-tac-toe with us! How fun!!!

Sounds like you had a wonderful evening with the Candlelight Processional and Holiday Illuminations!!!

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

great update girlfriend!! I loved the picture of Sarah sitting over there coloring! She looked so blah!!! ha!!! i think she was tired,huh? or hungry!!! They looked livened up later though! We always miss the CP...have walked by a few times, but the narrators we want to see either come the day before we arrive, or the day after we depart!!! Isn't that the way it goes?

 

[JoBird]

Great update!
I was happy to read your Teppan Edo review. I 'm thinking of doing it but not really sure.
We love Japanese restaurants usually, but I have heard also that TE is no better than any other one around.

Could you tell me what kinds of sauces they gave you?



Great pics of everyone! I know it's hard with a group to not have some eyes closed/ mouths open-- but it was cute.


Thanks for helping me to pass another day outside of the World!

Jo

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Great update Sheree!

It looks like you had a great spot for IllumiNations. And what a great view from your room.

Your family reunion photo is very nice!

 

[praisehisname]

What a lovely evening in Epcot with a delicious dinner! That's cool how you could hear the CP from the walkway; I didn't even think to try and do that. Oh well, next time!

 

[Dancegrl624]

Teppon Edo looks lovely! I've always wanted to go to Japanese steak house around here, but we've never gotten the chance. And you're right...everything tastes better at Disney!

 

[disneylovin24]

YAY!!! A new update

The family reunion pic is great, you all looked like you had a fun time! What great pictures of Illuminations That is my favorite nighttime show in disney, the fireworks are great but it's everything else that makes it!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Teppan Edo is awesome, I agree!! Looks like you had a great meal. Your Mall of American photos are nice too! Can you believe we have never been there and we live in MN!! We're hoping for maybe sometime this summer. Maybe we could meet up or something. Great update Sheree!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Your PP pictures in America are so good. The tree there was gorgeous!

The view from your room was awesome! I'd like to have that view from my room right now!

Teppan Edo looked really really good. I want to try it on a future trip. We have a place like that here, but I agree that everything is better at Disney!

 

[The4bits]

Loved seeing pictures of the MVMCP. I really want to attend that someday. Two years ago we did the Princess/Pirate party with our kids and this year we are going to do the Halloween party so who knows maybe in two years I'll finally get to do the Christmas party.

I love reading your PTR and can't wait to hear more. Thanks for sharing all your great pictures and details. Reading your PTR just makes me more excited for our upcoming trip.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

I'll be back to reply and update soon! It's been a busy week!

 

[MAGGIED]

patiently waiting....

 

[Mndisneygirl]

I’m sorry it’s been so long since I updated! It’s been one of those weeks – extra work, got hit with a cold, sick kids,…You all know the story. Moving on…

Tuesday 12/8

We got up around 8:00 and decided we’d head off to Epcot. We got there around 9 and signed up for the Kim Possible mission before we had some breakfast at Sunshine Seasons. Our start time was 11:15 in Norway, so we had plenty of time.

I can’t remember ever eating there before, but it was pretty good. we enjoyed a couple of breakfast plates and some French toast.
We got fast passes for Soarin’ with a return time of 12:30.

We went off to see the Seas with Nemo – pretty fast moving line.

The lady in bright blue and the scooter are my SILs. Those are not my kids in front of the tree.

By that time, we were needing to head to Norway for KP. I had planned to let the kids do at most 2 missions, depending on how it went. I love Epcot, and really wanted to see more of the pavilions this time.
So at Norway, we started our mission.

Side trip into Norway's shop
I thought I had a picture of the girls with the Viking hats on, but I must not have put it on photobucket.

The KP mission was really cute, but I would have to agree with some others that there is a lot of talking and sometimes it’s hard to hear. I kind of felt like it was a lot of extra story just to get us to go “there” and go “here” to see the “stuff” ( I don’t want to give too much away). It was fun, and the girls wanted to do another one, so we headed to Mexico for our next mission.

After that, I’d had enough and it was time to use our fastpasses for Soarin’. Dave wasn’t really wanting to go (big chicken!) so his sister Donna, Paige and Sarah and I went. The girls were a bit nervous, but we all loved it! I couldn’t believe that you could smell the scene – the pine trees, the oranges. So cool! I am prone to a bit of motion sickness, and was nervous during the faster parts, but made it just fine.

A few wandering pictures

That's Sarah walking on the "balance beam" wall.

They must have had a band play on that stage at some point. We never saw them. I just thought it was decorated pretty!

Somewhere along the way we did a little snacking – my receipt shows a pretzel from Norway ( NOT SCHOOL BREAD!!! – DH was the one in there, or I would have tried it!)

Some of the guys (BIL and nephews) had slept in (mostly the nephews) and done other things and went on Test Track. I would have liked to go on TT, but didn’t get the time. Oh well, I’d done it once before, and I’ll have to try to catch it next time.

We had lunch reservations today for Tutto Italia at 2:20 (remember this is the day where I so generously allowed my SIL and family the LeCellier reservation?). I was actually really excited, because I love Italian food (well, all thing Italian) and wanted to explore the Italy pavilion more too. One of my SILs talked about the jewelry in the shops, so I had to see that!
The food was PHENOMENAL!! We had 8 of us, and we got a couple of servers. Turns out the one guy was being trained. The female had to correct him in pouring coffee! HA! He was so cute! They put out olives and bread and oil to start. Very YUMMY! I ordered the penne caprese which was fabulous! DH had a sausage dish and the girls had spaghetti and meatballs. (must not have had chicken nuggets on the menu there!). They each got mozzarella sticks with their meals, so we got to eat those too!
For dessert I had a trio sampler with lemon cheesecake, tiramisu and chocolate trifle cake. I had to do that because I have a hard time deciding what to order. Samplers are the BEST thing ever invented!!! DH had chocolate gelato and the girls had gelato sundaes. Everyone gave the meal a big THUMBS UP!!
Our bill would have come to $137 including tax and automatic 18% tip for more than 6 people, but we used our TS credits.

My desserts!!
I thought I had taken a picture of my entree, but I guess not. You'll just have to go and try it for yourself! It's worth it!

After our meal, us ladies headed to the gift shop to peruse the jewelry. I found myself a pretty Murano glass bead “Y” necklace and bracelet. (In fact I'm wearing it today!) They had matching earrings, but they were too big and dangly for my taste. The necklace was $30 and the bracelet was $15, so that wasn’t too bad.


I got myself a glass of Chianti in the wine shop while we waited for the in-laws to meet us. We saw the funniest clown/mime/juggler in Italy – so goofy.

He did blow that dang whistle a lot!!

We also saw some of the holiday storytellers around the world.
La Befana in Italy - no idea why I have no pictures. Probably because Dave was with the girls and I was shopping with the camera! HA!
Father Christmas in UK – from quite a distance so we didn’t actually hear a story
Pere Noel in France – no story, just pictures

Monkey King in China

We roamed a bit through World Showcase.

Move! It's my turn!!

Stopped in the UK and did some shopping. In the shop near the International Gateway I found some cute t-shirts for the girls that say Joy FROM the World. I also bought Park music CDs from Illuminations and the Candlelight Processional with Phylicia Rashad narrating. I LOVE THEM!!! I also got the girls some of those kookie pens.

The girls' t-shirt.

Next up – We brave the crowds at DHS!!! Osborne Lights! Fantasmic!

 

[disneylovin24]

Your desserts look great!!!

Those Joy to the World shirts are really cute

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Great Epcot pics!

Glad you enjoyed your lunch at Tutto.