Sharing the Magic-Our Niece and Nephew's 1st Trip to the World! 2/1-COMPLETE!!!!

[UGAFan0829]

Finally, it was time to check in for dinner. And thankfully we were seated pretty much right away. Our buzzer went off as soon as we made it to the top of the stairs!

Mike and Mark ordered an appetizer of Sushi, which Mark had been looking forward to ever since we found out they serve it here.

Within just a few minutes of being seated, our chef had arrived, and the cooking began.

I can’t remember what everyone had, but I do know that I had chicken.

Sadly, I must admit that this was the first disappointing meal of the trip. Here at home, we are very use to getting quite a bit of food when eating at a hibachi style restaurant. That really wasn’t the case here. And not only that, but the food just didn’t taste very good either. None of us were impressed, and to be honest, we all left still hungry.

We settled our bill and headed out. And Mark had one mission in mind—more sushi. I remembered reading that there was a place somewhere in Japan that offered sushi to go, so while Mike and Mark went in search of it, Jaden and I investigated the Koi pond a little more.

They came back with 2 trays of sushi, which Mark willingly shared with his sister. Once they were both finally full we had one more place to visit, and that was Pick a Pearl. I’d been wanting to do this for a long time, but every time Mike and I checked it out, it was always crowded. So when I told the kids about it on this trip, they decided that they wanted to pick one and have it set as a gift to take back to their Mom. So, that’s what we did. I ended up getting one for myself as well, and I let Jaden pick the oyster for mine since Mark picked the one for his Mom.

Getting through the crowd to be able to see the settings and managing to find one that was affordable was somewhat of a task. It was a bit frenzied, so I totally forgot to take a picture. But the kids had theirs set in a necklace for their Mom. And even though I really, really wanted mine set in the Cinderella coach pendant, I ended up not getting anything as I knew that I’d probably never wear it!

So with our tummies full and our pearls picked, we decided that it was time to say goodnight to Epcot. We made our way on around, stopping to take a few pictures here and there.

And just like that our day in Epcot had come to and end.

After making it back to the resort, the first thing that Mike and I did was dig into the School Bread that we’d waited all evening for! We were very glad that we’d finally decided to try it as it was just as yummy as all the reviews I’d read!

And soon enough, we were all tucked into bed for some much needed rest before our very early fishing trip the next morning!

 

[Disneybuckeye]

Enjoying your report. You certainly are a great Aunt!

 

[Pinkocto]

I'm sorry about the disappointing meal. That's always a downer.

Love the hidden drain Mickey. The details they do are just amazing!

Glad you tried the school bread, it is so scrumptious.

And that picture of the three of you is just priceless

 

[UGAFan0829]

Enjoying your report. You certainly are a great Aunt!

Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it!! I feel that my writing hasn't been very creative this time! I am very lucky to be an aunt to my nieces and nephews!

I'm sorry about the disappointing meal. That's always a downer.

Love the hidden drain Mickey. The details they do are just amazing!

Glad you tried the school bread, it is so scrumptious.

And that picture of the three of you is just priceless

It defintiely was disappointing, but I tried to keep in mind that not every meal is going to be perfect--it's all part of trying something new!

I definitely agree about the details!

Thanks...I think the picture turned out pretty good myself!

 

[UGAFan0829]

On Tuesday morning, the alarms went off the earliest that they would all week. Our fishing excursion was scheduled for 7:00, and we’d been asked to arrive to the marina at least 15 minutes early. On top of that, we also had to give ourselves plenty of time to make it over to the Wilderness Lodge, park, and then make the walk out to the beach area.

We arrived at the Lodge around 6:35 and had a bit of a tough time finding a parking space. Once we finally found one, we unloaded and made our way in and through the lobby, and then out by the pool area, where we made our way to the Bike & Boat Rental area.

The view across the lake was absolutely beautiful, as the sun was beginning to rise and spread its glow across everything.

As we made our way towards the boats, our Guide, whose name escapes me at the moment (Beth, I think), met us at the dock. Before we could board the boat, we needed to grab a life jacket for each of us. Mike and I didn’t have to wear ours, but Mark and Jaden did.

Within just a couple minutes, we were onboard and making our way through the waters of Bay Lake.

And the fishing began!

We’d only been stopped at our spot for just a couple of minutes when we spotted something floating in the water. After further inspection, we found that it was an alligator!! I didn’t have my zoom lens with us, so I did the best I could to get a pic. It’s the very small spot pretty much right in the middle of the pic:

This was our first alligator sighting in Disney!!

Before long, Mark and Jaden both had their first catch in the boat!

Mike even got one, too!

After catching just one, Jaden was satisfied and decided that she was going to call it quits and sat with me to spectate. We had a ball watching Mark and Mike compete for biggest catch.

We stayed out until our 2 hours were up, and then headed over to the Ft. Wilderness Marina, where Beth and I unloaded and went to pay for the trip. I’m not sure why it was done this way, as we were able to pay at WL last time. Oh, and just a tip for anyone who’s a DVC member and may be thinking of doing this—make sure to bring your DVC membership card with you as members get a pretty decent discount. I think we ended up saving around $70, which was great!

After paying we headed back towards the Lodge where we said good bye to Beth and gave her our thanks for a great morning of fishing. She had been great with Mark and really helped him to hook into some good size fish.

We made our way back through the Lodge and out to the car where we then headed back to AKL. Since this was our scheduled “rest” day, we’d already told Mark and Jaden that we were going to head back to the room for a nap. It had been quite an early morning and the night before had been late, so I knew that a little rest would be needed.

We all settled in, and Mark decided that he really didn’t need any sleep, so he made himself a recliner with the couch cushions and watched TV while Jaden and the rest of us snuggled in.

Up next…our first character meal of the trip!

 

[Jennifer48]

I'm sorry to hear that your meal at Teppen Edo wasn't a success. At least you had the school bread back in the room to help satisfy that!

What a beautiful morning on Bay Lake! Can't wait to hear what the rest of your down day consisted of.

 

[Pinkocto]

What a fun morning

I didn't know WL had a beach, how beautiful.

 

[amazingact21]

I love that WDW offers things like fishing...provides such a variety of things to do while vacationing there. And I'm glad to see that it was a success! Plus, I think it's cool you were able to visit WL and show Mark and Jaden all the different areas of the resort.


Sorry Teppan Edo wasn't a hit for you guys. To me, hibachi is the same no matter where you go, so I can see how the food didn't really stand out. But hey, school bread for dessert sounds like a nice way to recover from a disappointing dinenr!

 

[UGAFan0829]

I'm sorry to hear that your meal at Teppen Edo wasn't a success. At least you had the school bread back in the room to help satisfy that!

What a beautiful morning on Bay Lake! Can't wait to hear what the rest of your down day consisted of.

It's okay...I know that we can't expect every meal to be great! It definitely could have been much worse. But I am glad that we did give it a try!

What a fun morning

I didn't know WL had a beach, how beautiful.

It was fun! Had it not been for the fishing, I probably wouldn't have known about the beach there either. It really is beautiful!

I love that WDW offers things like fishing...provides such a variety of things to do while vacationing there. And I'm glad to see that it was a success! Plus, I think it's cool you were able to visit WL and show Mark and Jaden all the different areas of the resort.


Sorry Teppan Edo wasn't a hit for you guys. To me, hibachi is the same no matter where you go, so I can see how the food didn't really stand out. But hey, school bread for dessert sounds like a nice way to recover from a disappointing dinenr!

I agree, Alicia--that's just another perk of visiting the World--all the different activities. And yet some people think that Disney is only theme parks!

Yes, the school bread was definitely a great ending to our day!

 

[UGAFan0829]

With the exception of Mark, who didn’t feel the need for a nap, we all awoke feeling refreshed and ready for a fun dinner.

We all took our turns getting a shower and readying for the evening. And before long, we were all squeaky clean for dinner with some of our pals!

We headed out of the room with plenty of time to spare and made our way to the bus stop. While we waited for a MK bus to arrive, we goofed around a bit and took the opportunity for some photos…

Finally a bus arrived, and as we made our way, it became evident that Mark did indeed need a nap.

Once at the MK, we hopped off the bus and boarded the monorail for the short ride over to the Contemporary. I know we could have just as easily walked, but who wants to do that when you have the monorail?!

And within just a very few minutes, we had arrived and were checking in for our highly anticipated meal!

Unlike most all our other visits to CM, we were seated pretty quickly. We were seated to the right of the restaurant, just above the buffet line, which worked out great!

Our CM has just brought our drinks when the characters began showing up!

Continued in next post...

 

[UGAFan0829]

Somewhere in between characters, we were able to make a dash for a little food!

As we filled our tummies, the characters once again made their rounds.

The entire meal was such a blast, and I couldn’t help but smile when the kids really got into the whole napkin twirling routine, so of course we had to join in!

And finally came dessert!

Can you guess whose plate this was?? Only on vacation would I let this happen!

As we were enjoying our treats, we got one last chance with the characters, and I too was able to join in on the picture taking fun!

Mark was a little worn out from all the excitement while Jaden was grinning from ear to ear…literally!

And poor Mike was a little sad that he didn’t get a chance to chat with his favorite feathered friend.

But he did get a chance to say hello to the Goofster, which always makes him smile!

Sadly, it was time to settle the bill and head on out. Our CM has been fantastic in making sure that our glasses always stayed full and was great about taking away our dirty plates, so we made sure to let him know how much we appreciated him!

As we made our way out, I had to grab this one last picture to help remember what a wonderful time we had at Mark and Jaden’s very first character meal! I don’t think it could have been any better!

We once again boarded the monorail and made our way back to the MK. As we were making our way to the MK bus stops, we noticed the Avengers monorail waiting to load.

And just as we were walking the end of the EWP was moving by. This was something we’d never taken the time to watch, so it was kind of neat to catch the end of it.

We arrived back at the resort and made our way to the room where we all followed our normal routine of a little TV watching before we called it a night. Tomorrow called for an early morning as we were heading for park opening at the Magic Kingdom, and our day was going to be full!!

 

[bluechic03]

Looks like you guys had so much fun! I LOVE the zebra domes too, we stayed at Kidani last trip and I made everyone stop at Mara at least 3 times so I could get some

 

[mousetravel]

Great pics at Chef Mickey's!!

 

[Pinkocto]

Love all the cute pictures! Jaden's smile is so precious

 

[amazingact21]

Glad Chef Mickey's was a success! Based on all the pictures, it looks like everyone had a blast. I think character meals are so great, because not only do the kids have a great time, but it's hard to find adults who aren't smiling, as well! And the food looked pretty good, too.

And as far as the monorail goes...you can walk anytime, it's not everyday you can ride the Disney monorail!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Looks like you guys had so much fun! I LOVE the zebra domes too, we stayed at Kidani last trip and I made everyone stop at Mara at least 3 times so I could get some

I think the Zebra Domes are definitely a favorite of us DIS'ers! In fact, Mike told me just the other day that we're gonna have to stop by AKL during next month's trip just to pick up some! I wish I had a way of bringing home some cheesecake for Mark and Jaden!

Great pics at Chef Mickey's!!

Thanks!

Love all the cute pictures! Jaden's smile is so precious

Awww, thanks!!

Glad Chef Mickey's was a success! Based on all the pictures, it looks like everyone had a blast. I think character meals are so great, because not only do the kids have a great time, but it's hard to find adults who aren't smiling, as well! And the food looked pretty good, too.

And as far as the monorail goes...you can walk anytime, it's not everyday you can ride the Disney monorail!

It was a blast, indeed! I'm so glad that we booked that meal--it was much better than I ever expected! I agree about the adults--everyone there was having a great time!

You are oh so right about the monorail!!!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Wednesday morning started off bright and early. MK opened at 9, and we wanted to be there in plenty of time to catch the opening show. Mike caught Jaden and I prepping for the day in action, so I made sure to return the favor to him and Mark!

We were all really excited about the day ahead of us and ended up being ready a few minutes early!

Little Miss Priss was more than ready to go on this morning!

We managed to eat breakfast and kill a few more minutes before heading out to the bus stop where several others were headed for the same destination.

It seemed as though everyone else had the same idea of being there early as it was only 8:20 and the crowds were already gathering!

We found a spot on the wall behind us and took a seat as there was still a few minutes to wait. Being patient seemed especially hard this morning as we were anxious to get our day started! Thankfully, we managed to make the time pass quickly by discussing our plans for the day. And before we knew it, we were being welcomed!

And just like that, the park was open and we were shuffling our way towards the tunnel along with the masses.

As we entered the park, I remembered that Mickey and the Princesses were now at the front of the park, so I glanced to the right and noticed that wait was only 5 minutes. Figuring that the wait would just get longer as the day went on, we decided it was best to go for it now. So while Jaden and I went inside to join the line, Mike and Mark headed over to Tomorrowland to grab Fastpassesfor SM.

Even though it was still early in the day, the sun was already up and the temps were too! Jaden and I were both thankful for the nice air conditioned line for the Princesses! Though the wait did seem a bit longer than 5 minutes, the trivia that popped up on the screens seemed to help pass the time! While we waited I also played with my phone to check out the wait times for some of the attractions.

Soon enough, our turn had come, and our first encounter was with this pink wearing Princess:

Next was Belle…

And lastly was her very favorite, Cinderelly!

They were so sweet together, and Jaden was mesmerized by them all. Of course she made sure to tell me that Cinderella had warned her to stay away from Pirates as they can cause all sorts of trouble!!

We exited through the gift shop, and made our way outside to look for Mike and Mark. As we were waiting for them to show up, I noticed the wait had already jumped to 25 minutes, which made me glad we hadn’t waited!

 

[Jennifer48]

What a great dinner at Chef Mickey's! I wonder why Donald wasn't around. The smiles on their faces are priceless!

How did they enjoy the opening at MK? Always my favorite!

 

[amazingact21]

Starting off the morning with the opening show AND meeting the princesses....sounds like the perfect beginning! Hopefully good things followed!

It's so great when the characters interact with you. I'm sure Jaden will always remember Cinderella cautioning her against those sneaky pirates!


Happy to hear you could find a spot to sit down and wait until the welcoming show began. From the pictures it looks really crowded!

By the way...love all the shirts!

 

[UGAFan0829]

What a great dinner at Chef Mickey's! I wonder why Donald wasn't around. The smiles on their faces are priceless!

How did they enjoy the opening at MK? Always my favorite!

Donald was there, but Mike never got the chance to get a picture with him. He wanted the kids to be able to enjoy their time there instead.

They loved the opening show, and I was really glad that we'd gotten up and made the effort to be there to see it!

Starting off the morning with the opening show AND meeting the princesses....sounds like the perfect beginning! Hopefully good things followed!

It's so great when the characters interact with you. I'm sure Jaden will always remember Cinderella cautioning her against those sneaky pirates!


Happy to hear you could find a spot to sit down and wait until the welcoming show began. From the pictures it looks really crowded!

By the way...love all the shirts!

I hope that the Princess interaction is a lasting memory for her...I know it is for me!

Being able to sit for the welcome show was very nice! I know the kids enjoyed our spot since they were able to stand up and see over everyone! It worked out great, especially since we didn't plan it that way!

Thanks for the compliments on the shirts...we loved them, too! And even though we didn't buy them in Disney, they turned out to be one of our favorite souveniers from the trip. The kids still wear theirs all the time. And we got tons of comments on them that day!