Revived! Our July 2010 TR

[sarahk0204]

Ok, I decided to revive this TR, as I need to relive some summer memories in this cold weather!

This is the beginning here:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2541003

Here is the next installment:

Chapter 4: Dinner at Restaurant Marrakesh

With everyone collected, we rode the monorail to the TTC and changed to the Epcot monorail. This was a fun way to get around. We then took the Friendship Boat to the other side of the lagoon to get to Morocco.

A word about the restaurant: Last year, we sort of fell into eating here. We originally had a breakfast ADR for Ohana for our last day. We ended up meeting our friends (the same ones on this trip) and going to evening EMH at the MK the previous night. With 2 five year olds staying up way past their bedtime, an 8:30 AM ADR wasn’t going to happen! I waited patiently on the phone with Disney Dining to cancel that and schedule something for lunch. (We had the dining plan, so wanted to use up that TS credit). I considered Yak & Yeti, but DH thought it was too hot to schlep around AK. So, we settled on Epcot and Restaurant Marrakesh for lunch. It was great! It wasn’t crowded, and we were seated up front near the musicians and belly dancer. DD got to dance with the belly dancer.

This time, we were a party of 11 going for dinner. We were seated up on the upper level way back in the corner. The girls were disappointed that they didn’t get asked to dance. The food was just as good, but we had some picky eaters in the group this time who didn’t enjoy their meals. In addition, DD was coming down with something. She was really quiet and didn’t want her dessert.

After dinner, we went over to Japan.

We had decided to have the girls do Pick a Pearl. I’d seen some cute pearl cage necklaces here on the DIS, so I ordered Cinderella coach ones from eBay for all 4 girls. They each got a turn to pick their oyster. The ceremony is really cute.

DD perked up for that, but then she was done. We left our friends, who were planning to watch Illuminations, and called it a night. We went back to BLT, dosed DD with ibuprofen, and went to bed.

 

[sarahk0204]

Well, DD was doing better the next morning. Unfortunately, she was doing so well, I forgot to redose her ibuprofen as a precaution. This would have consequences later.

As I said, our first trip with kids was in 2008 when they were 4. On that trip, I used early EMH almost exclusively. Our MO was early EMH with an early TS lunch at that park and a nap/swim back at the resort in the afternoon. This worked great that year. In 2009, we did a couple of late nights, and got a little off. However, I still planned my ADR’s for our 2010 trip around early EMH.

Today’s plans were DHS for early EMH, with lunch at Sci-Fi for just the 4 of us. However, with DD still recovering, we slept in a bit. Instead of DHS at 8:00 AM, we walked over to the MK a little after 9. It was surprisingly uncrowded. It had had early EMH the day before, I think. By going to a non EMH park in the morning, we actually fared better.

First up was BTMRR. The kids had gotten as far as Goofy’s Barnstormer the previous year, and they were ready for the next step. It was pretty much a walk on. They LOVED it, and wanted to go again. Still just a short wait, so back we went!

We then rode Pirates, again with a minimal wait. We finished up with HM. After riding this during evening EMH in 2009, my kids are a little scared of it, and they will only ride it in the daytime.

MK was just starting to get busy, and it was time to make our way to DHS. A short monorail ride back to CR, and we got our car from the BLT parking lot. We drove to DHS – much faster than the bus.

We arrived at Sci-Fi right on time. It was the first time we had eaten here. We didn’t have any hitchhikers in our car. DH and DS sat in the front, and DD and I sat in the middle. DH is a big guy, and we were a little concerned that he would be uncomfortable in the “car”. I am happy to report that he had plenty of room.

Everyone enjoyed watching the film clips. Our food was tasty, but DD was starting to fade again. Shame on Mommy for forgetting the ibuprofen! So, we decided to head back to the resort. DD, DS, and DH all napped, while I did laundry. Since we were staying in a studio, I had to go downstairs to the laundry room. It was very nice, and wasn’t crowded any of the times we were there. However, I am one of those odd people who actually enjoys doing laundry. We had one of those Florida afternoon thunderstorms, and it was pleasant to stay inside and read a book while I waited.

When I toted the clean laundry back upstairs, I found DD and DH still sleeping, but DS awake. He and I went to investigate the BLT Community Hall. This is such a nice DVC perk! He did some coloring and made a button. Then he played some video games, his favorite pastime. There was a PS2, I believe. We have Wii and Nintendo DS, so DS was having trouble figuring out which buttons did what. I was no help, but a CM had more knowledge. I finally drug him away so we could figure out dinner. DD was feeing much better after her nap, but wanted chicken noodle soup. I also needed to restock kid ibuprofen and Tylenol. So, I went to the new SuperTarget on 192. Hooray for having our own car! The store was clean, and I found everything I needed, including some red nail polish to cheer DD up.

DS wanted to eat soup too, not because he was sick, but because soup is his favorite meal, even in summer in Florida! I walked over to the Contempo Café to pick up dinner for me and DH. I know some people complain about not having a CS restaurant in BLT, but after staying in the FW cabins with essentially no CS, this was pretty convenient in comparison.

After dinner in the villa, the kids were up for movie. A trip to the Community Hall got us Bolt for the evening. We all really enjoyed just relaxing in the room. When the movie finished, it was about 9:30. DD was feeling much better, and she was up for a trip upstairs. So, we all trooped to the elevator to enjoy another DVC perk: watching Wishes from the TOTW lounge. It was Summer Nightastic, and it was really fun. The best part was just taking the elevator back down and crawling into bed (I think the kids even wore their PJ’s upstairs).

 

[sarahk0204]

A lazy afternoon and a good nap were just what DD needed. Now we were all ready for our Ohana breakfast with the whole crew. We assembled and took the monorail over to the Poly. We found the restaurant and got our picture taken.

We all loved Ohana. Breakfast was tasty, the character interaction was great, and being served family style rather than going to the buffet was really nice. Unfortunately, the restaurant is kind of dark, and we were still getting used to our new camera. We definitely give it a thumbs up, and we are looking forward to bringing my MIL here this June.

After breakfast, we spilt up for a while. Our friends wanted some park time, and we wanted to go swimming. I think they joined us in the pool after a while. We LOVED the BLT pool. I had to go down the slide just before them initially, but they soon got their confidence up, and I only had to meet them at the bottom. I wasn’t sure what my kids would think of the splash area. It seemed pretty basic compared to the new one at FW. However, I was wrong. My kids LOVED the splash area, and they even played here exclusively a couple of evenings.

We had a snack poolside, and we used our refillable mugs. Then everyone got cleaned up, and we regrouped to go to AK. I had actually heard on a podcast on the drive down about the Taste of Africa Street Party. That Saturday was the last night. Since our friends didn’t have a car, we waited for the bus from the CR. At AK, we headed to Harambe Village. We enjoyed the band, which was playing a sort of African Electric Slide. Some of us danced.

We ate at Pizzafari, and then rode the Safari. Then it was off to the next level of rollercoasters: EE. Our friends’ older DD doesn’t do rollercoasters, so she and her mom sat this one out. DS got ¾ of the way through the line before he chickened out, so I had to go back with him and wait with our friends. In the end, DH, DD, Friend DH, and Friend younger DD rode. They loved it.

Then it was off to Kali. The park actually wasn’t very crowded, even though it was evening EMH. CM’s said that since AK closes at sunset, people are used to having it close early and don’t think about going in the evening in the summer – when the park is actually open later.

After getting soaked on Kali, we headed over to Dinoland. This is where our togetherness broke down a little. Friends older DD was 9, and she wanted to do more thrill rides (other than rollercoasters). Her DSis (7) of course wants to follow her sister. My kids, at 6, weren’t quite ready for that. In Dinoland, our friends made a beeline for Dinosaur, which does not interest my kids at all. We stayed behind, and the kids and I rode triceratops Spin, much more our speed. DH sat, as he doesn’t find those kinds of rides comfortable.

By then, AK was closing, so we rode the bus back to the CR. The kids watched A Goofy Movie, courtesy of the DVD lending library in the community hall, and then it was off to bed.

 

[sarahk0204]

I started my day as I usually do: waking up before the family and enjoying a cup of tea. I do drink hot tea at home, but generally only in the winter. Disney is the only place I will drink hot tea in the summer, and even then, only in the morning in the room.

Anyway, while I was sitting on our balcony at BLT (gotta love DVC!), I got a voice mail that there had been some flooding at home. Luckily, DH’s DSis and DBIL cleaned things up for us. They were already helping take care of the pets, so they got some extra souvenears as a thank you.
When everyone else got up and going, we decided to head to DHS, as our early EMH day didn’t go as planned. We drove over. We started with Star Tours. Surprisingly, as much as my family likes Star Wars, we had never done this attraction. We loved it, and got FP for later. We are all really looking forward to Star Tours 2.0, and hopefully, we will catch the last of SWW on our trip in June 2011.

Next up was Muppets. This is a must do for every trip. DH and I grew up with The Muppet Show, and our kids have learned to love them too.

Then it was time for the Power Rangers. We were happy to see them one last time. On the kids’ first trip in 2008, DS was obsessed with the Power Rangers, and seeing them was a highlight of the trip. This time, you could tell that they were waning in popularity, as we managed to see all of them in one round.

We went to check out TSM. I have to admit that while we enjoyed this ride in 2009, it isn’t a must do for us. We actually like the Wii version better (I know, we’re weird). Instead, we waited in line to see Buzz & Woody. The photo ops along the way were fun.

Our only problem was a woman behind us. She was with a group of adults and kids, and she kept moving into our shot every time we started to take a picture. There are a series of feet and arrows on the floor to show the path of the kids (or whomever is having photos taken) and of the photographer. If there is a line, you have to wait at each station until the family ahead of you is done with their pictures. This woman kept creeping up into what was “our” station at the time. Finally, DH had to tell her to back off. DH thought she was being rude intentionally but I thought she was just clueless.

We had lunch at ABC Commissary. I know that people complain about the CS offerings in DHS, but this was fine. I had the salad, which was perfect for a hot day. Hooray for air conditioning!

After lunch, we poked around Tatooine Traders. We actually sat for one of those silly pictures where they insert your face on a character’s body. Since we have girl/boy twins, I had to do a family photo where DH was Anakin, I was Padame, and DS and DD were Luke and Leia.

We used our Star Tours FP, and then we headed out. We were meeting our friends for dinner.

 

[sarahk0204]

We had an ADR at Trails End for dinner for the 11 of us. We all met up and took the boat over to Fort Wilderness.

Home Sweet Home!


We love the Fort. The only downside to DVC is that it makes it rather impractical to stay there on points. We also love Trails End. I know it isn’t fancy, nor is it a maximum use of a dining credit. However, when we met up with our friends in 2009, this was where we ate. Our friends loved it so much; the DH requested it for this trip. Also, some members of our group really didn’t care for Restaurant Marrakesh, so this was more their speed.

Dinner was yummy. Afterwards, we had to decide where to go next. I had originally made the ADR with MK evening EMH in mind. After all, we were just a boat ride away. However, our friends had thoroughly covered MK, as they had arrived a day earlier and didn’t have a sick child to alter the itinerary. They wanted to go to DHS for Fantasmic. Ok, since we were game, we took an internal bus to the Outpost at FW, and then a bus to DHS. Once we got there, we discovered that at 8:15 PM, there was SRO for the first show and people were already lining up for the second show. Here is where we really saw the differences between our 6 year olds and our friends’ 9 and 7 year olds. They were perfectly willing to wait for the second show of Fantasmic, and they were ready to go to TOT in the meantime. We had NO interest in TOT or waiting in line. RnR was 1 one hour wait as well. So, we decided to part ways for the evening. I was a little sad, as we were trying to do things together. However, with a tween and a younger sister who wants to do everything her older sister does, our friends’ interests are just a little more mature than our family’s right now.

We made our way back to the exit, stopping for a photo op along the way.

Then we returned to BLT and went to MK. This worked out much better for us. We rode the RR all the way around to Toontown. We rode barnstormer twice with minimal wait, the Tomorrowland Speedway (referred to in our house as “Indy Cars”), the Carousel of Progress (one of my favorites), and Buzz Lightyear. We got a snack at the Lunching Pad (I think I finally tried a cream cheese pretzel – yum!), and then we headed back to BLT. We could sleep in tomorrow before another group lunch, BBB appointments for 4, and a Princess Dinner.

 

[sarahk0204]

Having a girl and a boy, and twins at that, I am always trying to keep activities, experiences, and gifts “even”. As my mom was the oldest of 5 kids, and I am the oldest of 3, it’s something I grew up with. On this day, we managed to do a pretty good job.

After EMH at MK the night before, we slept in. Our first scheduled activity was lunch at T-REX. We’d eaten here on the last trip, and really enjoyed it. We get to a RFC near our home a few times a year (referred to in our house as “Jungle Café”, probably because we started going when the kids were pretty young, 3 or so). We enjoy Jungle Café, but we like the selections at T-Rex even better. Plus DS adores the dinosaurs. Our friends, even though they have girls, were happy to come along, too.

DS and I toured the entire restaurant, and he made sure I took plenty of pictures.

I don't know why, but this sign cracks me up!

To be continued...

 

[sarahk0204]

After lunch, we split up. The Girls headed to BBB in DTD. This was the third time DD has been there, but it was the first time for our friends. Making reservations for 4 appointments turned out to be a challenge. The computer system did not ant to do it for some reason, and the poor CM on the phone had a heck of a time. Finally, she split them into 2 groups of 2, and that made the computer happy. Our friends’ DNiece and family didn’t come to T-REX, so mom and daughter met us at the BBB. The Guys, meanwhile, has plans of their own. They walked over to Ridemakerz, and DS and DH (who is just a big kid, really) each made a remote control car. Meanwhile, 4 princesses were being made up:

This is the oldest DD, who was 9 at time. She talked her FGIT's ear off!

The little girl on the left isn't part of our group. She just was seated between our 2 groups of 2. Sorry about that!

Being a princess is hard work!

Here we have the various Priness styles: That's Pop Princess on the left, then Diva Princess with natural colored hair, Diva Princess with pink hair, and Traditional Princess with tiara on the right. Since DD has been 3 times, she has tried all three styles. She has noted that the traditional bun is the most comfortable in the summertime, so I am guessing she'll pick that in June. We'll see!

We actually finished before the guys, so we walked over to Ridemakerz. They were just finishing up. DD like her brother’s car so much, now she wants to make one! Since she is already going to BBB this next trip (in the castle, just for something different), I told her she’d need to save her money!