Snow White Does the Creep on the Trip that Almost Wasn't A Dec 11/Jan 12 TR 7/24 NEW

[Nermel9]

Oooh, I can't wait for your next PTR update!

Hahaha, I love listening to people argue in Disney, because it's usually never anything serious, just some Disney problems! We all have them once in a while!

I like the picture with the flash better, sorry John!

Where are you guys eating???? Teppan Edo? I really thought it was Le Cellier!

 

[cutejellybeen]

So, I just joined your TR/PTR and I'm loving it so far!!! Looking forward to seeing where your mystery ADR is!

 

[smile4stamps]

I still think you are going to Le Cellier especially since you booked it for July and said it was the best food you had at Disney!!

I love your ADR choices for July. They all sound good!!

 

[Yoshiandi]

And I can't wait for the updates!!!

 

[luvslikepi]

Just stumbled across your TR today - there is a great website I discovered last night for military discounts on airfare. I'll try to post the link: www.militaryfares.com I found some decent rates for some flights my hubby will be taking this summer.

 

[marDgreen88]

You're killin me man! First twitter, now this. SPILL!

BAH yay, I knew it was Epcot. What do I win?

You started at THAT end because you had an hour. What do you think we are, NEW?

Hmm... I think both the pictures are lovely. Although I will say that more often than not I find myself turning off the flash on my camera...

 

[TexasBelle]

 

[therussells08]

I love your report.
You have to Eat @ the Yak and Yeti @ Animal Kingdom. I really loved the food there. ....

Thank you so much! I'm so glad you enjoy it. You're right, Yak and Yeti is amazing! We will definitely be eating there!

well i just finished reading ALL of your trip reports and pre trip reports! i loved them all! you guys remind me of me and my DH except he isnt a big fan. i think he enjoys it with just me and him but not as much as yours! i cant wait to read the rest of your report from december 2011 and the next one to come!

Wow, thank you so much for reading all of my reports! That's awesome! I'm sorry your DH isn't a huge fan, but I'm sure he still has a wonderful time with you! Keep reading, I'm glad you're enjoying it!

I hope you enjoyed your dinner at EPCOT. It's my favorite park. I could spend so much time just circling world showcase over and over again.

Why do people have to fight at Disney? Come on, it's Disney people. Looks like that family needed a little pixie dust.

It was SUCH an amazing dinner. That update is coming very soon! I could spend hours in the WS too! There's so much to see (and eat)!

Seriously, I dunno. I mean, John and I have had our disagreements, but these full blown fights just blow my mind!

What a tease! I am dying to know where you guys are eating!

On a side note...my family is always that family...the family that's arguing that other people listen in on! It's so bad, but it wouldn't be a normal Disney trip without an argument or two, lol.

Hehehe you'll find out very soon, I promise!

Haha I'm sorry! Seriously though, I think sometimes it's hard to avoid. John and I bicker occasionally, but thankfully we tend to avoid the MAJOR fights.

Oooh, I can't wait for your next PTR update!

Hahaha, I love listening to people argue in Disney, because it's usually never anything serious, just some Disney problems! We all have them once in a while!

I like the picture with the flash better, sorry John!

Where are you guys eating???? Teppan Edo? I really thought it was Le Cellier!

I'm getting ready to post that update now!

You're right, we all have them! John and I are terrible able eavesdropping on other people's arguments!

Haha THANK YOU!

Hmmm...wait and see!

 

[therussells08]

So, I just joined your TR/PTR and I'm loving it so far!!! Looking forward to seeing where your mystery ADR is!

I'm glad you're enjoying it!

I still think you are going to Le Cellier especially since you booked it for July and said it was the best food you had at Disney!!

I love your ADR choices for July. They all sound good!!

Hmm...stay tuned to find out!

Thank you! We've made some changes to them...I'm getting ready to post another PTR update!

And I can't wait for the updates!!!

A new update is coming right up!

Just stumbled across your TR today - there is a great website I discovered last night for military discounts on airfare. I'll try to post the link: www.militaryfares.com I found some decent rates for some flights my hubby will be taking this summer.

Thank you so much for sharing that site with me! It looks like it's got some great deals!

You're killin me man! First twitter, now this. SPILL!

BAH yay, I knew it was Epcot. What do I win?

You started at THAT end because you had an hour. What do you think we are, NEW?

Hmm... I think both the pictures are lovely. Although I will say that more often than not I find myself turning off the flash on my camera...

Muah ha ha! I'm sorry, but I love the suspense! I'm getting ready to post that PTR update now, I can't make you guys wait anymore!

You win....a little dude riding a moped! HAHA, sorry. I'm really excited about these new emoticons.

Haha you're a pro! I can't fool you!

John hates using the flash on our camera. I love it!

 

[therussells08]

Hi everyone! Well, I think I have left you hanging long enough with the teasers about the BIG NEWS I have for my July trip. Seeing as how tomorrow we will be 11 weeks away, I figured it was a good time to share my big secret!

Okay, so the original plans for our trip were to arrive on Sunday, July 8, and leave on Sunday, July 15. Well, that’s stayed the same. John and I will drive down on July 7, we will check in on July 8, and John will drive home on July 15. Wait, did you catch that? I said JOHN will drive home on July 15. So, what about me? I’m certainly not going to walk home, so what could this mean?

Well…it means…

I AM STAYING IN DISNEY THREE EXTRA DAYS!!! You’re probably pretty confused right about now. I’m staying in Disney by myself? How will I get home?? Allow me to explain…

I am bringing MY MOMMY to Disney World! She is flying down on July 15, and we are going to fly home together on July 18!! AHHHH! So, let’s recap. I get to stay in Disney World for three extra days, AND my mom is coming down with me!

Oh, and did I mention that MY MOM HAS NEVER BEEN TO DISNEY WORLD?! Well, technically she has. She and my dad brought me and my sister in 1987, but they only did MK and they only stayed for a day. Plus I was six months old, so that one doesn’t count. She also came to Epcot for one day in 2007, but that was to see a concert, and she only rode two rides. So as far as I’m concerned, she’s NEVER BEEN! Plus she’s never stayed in a Disney Resort, so she’s going to have a blast!

Here’s some more important information about this trip. I think it’s best to do this in bullet format:

• Since I will be in Disney World for eleven days, John and I decided it was a good idea for me to go ahead and get an ANNUAL PASS. Did you catch that? I’m going to be an AP holder. Just sayin’.
• Also, since I will be getting an AP, we decided to cancel our Dining Plan and we’re going to get the Tables in Wonderland card instead. I’ve heard from several people (including Jess) that this is a much better deal than the DDP.
• As a result of this change, we have decided to cancel some of the previously posted ADRs that we were least excited about. We kept most of them, but we ditched a few. However, those few have been replaced by ADRs for my mom and me on our trip! You can read more about that below.
• This will be my first time EVER using the Disney buses, and Disney’s Magical Express! Unfortunately I will only get to ride the ME on my way home, but my mom will get to ride it at the beginning of her magical adventure!

Are you blown away by the awesomeness yet? If not, allow me to add a bit more information. This trip is a gift from me to my mom, and it will serve as a Mother’s Day/birthday/thanks for being my mommy gift. My mom is seriously like my best friend, and I’ve wanted to bring her to Disney for FOREVER. She has some health issues and hasn’t been on vacation in a long time, so I can’t wait for her to experience it. I am seriously tearing up just thinking about it. Oh, by the way, here’s a picture of the

I know, I know. She's precious. Tell me about it.

So anyway, since it’s my mommy’s special trip, she got to choose the specifics! First, our resort! I set her down in front of the Disney website and told her to pick her favorite resort. She ended up choosing…

PORT ORLEANS FRENCH QUARTER! She really liked all of the details, and she said it was her number one pick. Since she’s the Princess of the Trip, that was all the information I needed! Luckily Disney allows spouses of military personnel to get the military discount, so I got 35% off our room! Woo hoo!

Now onto our daily plans/dining!

My mom’s plane will land in Orlando around 2:20 pm on July 15th. I will be waiting to meet her at POFQ, and then we are heading straight to Magic Kingdom for our first night together! So, where do you take a princess on her first trip to Disney World to dinner?

A CASTLE, DUH! We will be eating dinner at Cinderella’s Royal Table, which is a first for both of us! Like I said earlier, my mom is a total princess, and she’s already sure that her favorite parts of Disney will be the fireworks, parades, and characters! She is so excited to meet the princesses especially!

MK is open until 1:00 am that night, so we will have plenty of time to explore! There’s so much I want her to see. My mom is not huge on thrill rides, so she’s already planning on skipping Splash Mountain, but she is thrilled to ride Haunted Mansion and It’s a Small World!

Only July 16 we will be heading to DHS! My mom is super excited about going here. She’s waiting to get clearance from her doctor to see if she can ride Rock’n Roller Coaster, but she’s definitely planning to skip Tower of Terror. For dinner on this day we will be eating at…

Sci Fi Dine in Theater! Yes, that means I will be eating here twice on this trip, which is totally fine with me! My mom loves the theming, because she used to take my sister and me to the drive in all the time when we were little.

We will make sure to catch Fantasmic, the American Idol Experience, and the Beauty and the Beast show on this day! My mom will love all of them!

On July 17 we will be going to Epcot! This is the park my mom is most excited about! And I have made sure to start our day in the BEST way, with ANOTHER PRINCESS MEAL!

We are going to be having breakfast at Akershus! This is another first for both of us, and we couldn’t be more excited!

Mom is really looking forward to exploring Epcot and riding Soarin’. She will not, however, be riding Mission: Space, which is just fine with me!

On July 18 we will either be going to Animal Kingdom or back to Magic Kingdom. My mom hasn’t decided yet whether or not she wants to go to AK. She said she thinks she would rather have more time at MK, but she’s not sure yet. Either way we will have a blast! Our plane will leave that evening at about 5:30pm. We will arrive back home in NC at 10:19pm, filled with wonderful memories from our first mother/daughter trip!

So there’s my big news! Pretty exciting, huh? 78 DAYS!!!!

 

[marDgreen88]

OH MY GOSH. I am so excited for you it's not even funny! I wish you could have stayed like 15 extra days so I could meet you!! Darnit haha. I guess a 15 day extension would be a little costly though.

That's SO awesome that you get a mother/daughter trip! Precious.

ANNUAL PASS?!?!? OKAY now I'm REALLLLLY jealous! Dang girl!

Joni. You've NEVER been on a Disney bus? Not even once?! I am baffled by this news!

Your mom is too cute! You're such a thoughtful daughter. POFQ!!!!! CINDERELLA'S ROYAL TABLE?!?! OH MY GOSH. Yall are gonna have such an amazing time! I am honestly so excited for yall, I think this is gonna be so special! Thanks so much for painting such a lovely picture of your upcoming trip! (I had to say that cheesy line just to use that new smiley. They are addictive.)

 

[therussells08]

OH MY GOSH. I am so excited for you it's not even funny! I wish you could have stayed like 15 extra days so I could meet you!! Darnit haha. I guess a 15 day extension would be a little costly though.

That's SO awesome that you get a mother/daughter trip! Precious.

ANNUAL PASS?!?!? OKAY now I'm REALLLLLY jealous! Dang girl!

Joni. You've NEVER been on a Disney bus? Not even once?! I am baffled by this news!

Your mom is too cute! You're such a thoughtful daughter. POFQ!!!!! CINDERELLA'S ROYAL TABLE?!?! OH MY GOSH. Yall are gonna have such an amazing time! I am honestly so excited for yall, I think this is gonna be so special! Thanks so much for painting such a lovely picture of your upcoming trip! (I had to say that cheesy line just to use that new smiley. They are addictive.)

Thank you so much! Haha seriously, I would LOVE to stay 15 extra days! It would be so awesome to meet up! I might have to sell my house to pull it off, unfortunately!

I know!! I've never had an AP before! I feel like I'm joining some exclusive club. EEP!

Honestly, never. I can't believe it either! I've always wanted to take the buses, but John is really weird about "relying on someone else for transportation." My mom, however, is totally fine with it, so YIPPEE!

Thank you so much!! It means so much to me that I am able to do this for my mom, and I know it is going to be such a special experience! HAHA, I love it! The new smileys are great!

 

[therussells08]

Alright, now that I’ve revealed my big secret about my July trip I figured it was time to stop making y’all guess where we were going to dinner!

Some of you got it, but I think I tricked a few of you! We were going to…

Le Cellier! That’s right, we managed to get a last minute ADR here during the busiest week of the year! If that ain’t pixie dust, I don’t know what is! Now if you remember, we had a planned ADR for lunch here later in the week, but we didn’t care! We couldn’t wait to try it out!

We checked in at the podium and made our way down the precious path to the restaurant.

Um, can I just live in that little cottage, please? I wouldn’t be a bother, I promise. I could earn my keep as a groundskeeper, and they could feed me leftover cheddar cheese soup at the end of the day. We could make this work.

Anyway, when we went inside we were seated immediately. Like, the girl was calling our names as we walked up. WOOT WOOT. The guy that walked us to our table was super nice. He asked us if we had ever been there before and when we said no he got really excited. He showed us the area with all the fake desserts for us to look at, then he took us to our table. Our table was almost directly inside the door.

Here’s John Boy checking out his menu.

And here’s my view of the restaurant.

I wonder how many people have taken a picture of the back of my head at Disney World? Moving on…

Our waitress arrived shortly. Of course I can’t remember her name, or what province of Canada she said she was from, but she was very nice and attentive. Even though we were using the DDP for this meal, we couldn’t resist getting a few extras. John wanted a Canadian beer, and I wanted THIS.

THE SOUP. The Canadian cheddar cheese soup. The most amazing freaking soup ever invented, I’m not even kidding. I almost cried it was so good. I had been reading about it on the DIS forever, especially on Jen’s TR, and she was SO RIGHT. I have never had anything more delicious.

Oh, and let’s not forget this delicious addition our lovely waitress brought:

The really hard bread was just eh, but that pretzel bread changed my life. I’m not even kidding you guys, dipping that pretzel bread in my cheddar cheese soup was some kind of transcendental experience. I should write a book about it.

Oh wait, I pretty much just did. HAHA. Anyway, here’s John patiently listening to me rave about my amazing soup and pretzel bread:

*Sidenote: The recipe for the soup is in my Disney World cookbook, and I’ve made it twice and it actually tastes just like the real thing! Unfortunately the ingredients to make one pot of soup cost about $60, so it’s not something I can make very often.

Onto the entrees. I need you all to prepare yourselves for the deliciousness that is to come, because it cannot be rivaled.

For my entrée I ordered the Le Cellier mushroom filet mignon with wild mushroom risotto, white truffle-butter sauce, and Micro Chevril (whatever that is). Hallelujah, thank you Lord. This was the most amazing meal I have EVER EATEN. I’m not joking, I’m not exaggerating- it was absolutely fantastic. Beyond words. I can’t even begin to do it justice, so I’m just going to move on.

John went with the Canadian prime New York 12-oz strip steak with potato pave, wilted spinach, and Vin Rouge Reduction. That’s all fancy shmancy talk to me, but he said it was absolutely amazing.

We also got a side order of poutine fries, which are basically French fries with cheese and gravy on them. They were SO GOOD. I’m getting really frustrated while writing this because I just can’t put into words how good this meal was. I think you all get the point, though.

For dessert I was really looking for the chocolate “moose”, but for some reason it wasn’t on the menu. In restrospect I realize I should have just asked for it, but I just ordered something off the menu instead. I went with the seasonal sorbets.

I can’t remember what all the flavors were, but I do remember that one was passion fruit and it was really really good. The other flavors were just okay, but I didn’t mind because I was stuffed!

John is a chocolate man, so he got the trio of chocolate, which has a chocolate mousse, chocolate sorbet, and chocolate-almond cake. He said it was really good, but he was too full to eat all of it!

Here’s a very happy/full John:

We were so happy with this meal. It was honestly the best meal we’ve ever had in Disney. If you’ve never been there, you MUST GO. I totally understand why they’ve made it a signature restaurant. It is completely worth the money. Now the question is, would we keep our lunch ADR there later in the week? Stay tuned to find out!

Up Next: We finish our evening at Epcot, and I have to make a decision about the resort! Stay tuned!

 

[MissManda]

Loving your trip report! Really like your hubby's Dexter t-shirt. My hubby is a huge fan of the show. I almost teared up reading your PTR. That is so awesome you get to have a mother-daughter trip with your Mom. What an awesome experience for you both. Your plans sound amazing. Can't wait to hear all about it.

 

[IheartDDuck]

Yay, that's so exciting about your Mom coming on the trip with you! And three additional days. Well, that's just the icing on the cake.

OMG, the pretzel bread at Le Cellier is just the best. I could subsist on that alone. Mind you, it wouldn't be healthy, but I could do it. Fo sho.

 

[TexasBelle]

Ok so I posted this earlier... because I didn't want to lose my place... I absolutly love your trip report...
2nd - Tell you sweet fabulous husband Thank you for all he does for our country!!!! He is awesome!!!
I started your trip report today and absolutly loved it!!! You guys are so adorable... My sweet hubby loves Disney like John which is such a great thing, we just plan all of our vacations around Disney...

We went to Disney Jan 3, 2010 and saw the Osbourn lights but we missed the parades in MK so seeing your pictures of Mickey and Minnie, Donald and Daisy and the rest of the gang was so awesome. Even the Princess and all those really handsome Princes we're amazing!!!

You asked for suggerstions on places to eat, which you might have already tried them but here's some of my thoughts.

We love Yachtman's!!! Also a really fabulous steak!!! To me they offer a little bit better choice of desserts but no Cheese Soup.We also love love love Le Cellier, but we found that Yachtman's was awesome too.

We also love Whispering Canyon, so much fun!!!! We've had it several times, I love how much the waitstaff interact with you!!

The rest of your choices are fabulous!!! Ohana's!!! Yummy, the best bread pudding ever!!! I mean Ever!!! Flying Fish is sooooo nice! We ate there with our 3 kids on our very first trip and WOW!!! So nice, So Fancy!!!! Enjoy!!!!

I'm so excited that your mother is going, what an awesome daughter you are to give that to her!!!

I started a trip report the other day, If you want to jump over and check it out, we had lots of fun on our trip. The link is in my siggy!!!

Looking forward to more updates on your Trip Report and PreTrip Report!!!
TexasBelle

 

[Nermel9]

Yay for extending your trip and your mom coming with you! You guys are going to have so much fun! I love all the ADR's you have planned! I really need to go on a girly trip someday to do all princessy things! And POFQ is so beautiful, your mom made a great choice!

AHHHH an AP! Even though I have one and it's good til October, I'm still jealous because this is the last AP trip we're taking...and I don't know if we're renewing or not.

A TiW card sounds great, I kind of regret not getting one now! I guess I still could, but if we're on the dining plan, it's kind of pointless! I should have just bought one in October when I got the AP!
_________________________________________

Yay, Le Cellier!!! I knew it!!! I cannot wait to go back there, and after reading this update, now I'm even more anxious to go! Isn't that cheddar cheese soup the best??? And that pretzel bread? And the fliet??? OMG, I love everything there so much!

I don't know why, but the only have the chocolate moose on the lunch menu now. I'm hoping if someone asks for it they will give it to them, though! John's dessert looks awesome, I love chocolate! OMG. I seriously cannot wait to go there!

I hope you kept your lunch ADR later in the week! Can't wait to see what happens with the resort drama!

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

I think it's wonderful that your mom is coming for part of your trip. It will definitely be a special ending to your vacation.

 

[archdandy]

I'm joining in for your PTR and TR! Congrats on getting to take a mother daughter trip. I'm sure it will be really magical for both of you. I'm going to take a wild guess and say you went to Le Cellier?

 

[cindianne320]

You are such a wonderful daughter! I would LOVE to go on another mother/daughter trip with my mom! We went on 3 before I was married, and they were some of the best trips ever!