SOOZE's Grand Gathering... it's so good, I have to bevel! Update! 2/3

[Sooze]

Subbing. With all of those brass players, it promises to be a good TR.

Welcome!! Two questions:
#1 Are you also a brass player? (I'm assuming yes... but you never know!)
#2 Are you the famous glennbo from Dan's TR... the one that he couldn't find in Magic Kingdom? If not, sorry!

I love the pictures...there is nothing like being with family at WDW! Love the pics of the girls and I love that she wore her Rapunzel dress all the way from MN!!

Wasn't that sweet! She was just euphoric the ENTIRE trip. It was awesome!

Thanks for the plug, yes, doing a TR here on the dis:http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2752980
Yes, she told me , they saw you sing too, said you did really well!!! Will definitely touch on the rain : )

Already checked in! You know I could NEVER miss a Timandlesley TR.. they are the best!!

I had no idea Diane and the family made it to American Idol!! I know they had lunch reservations and didn't think they could squeeze in that 12:30 show. How cool!! I know you have all the time in the world but if you really want to see my performance, Matt scammed a video on his iPhone and it's posted on my Facebook wall... you know... just in case you want to see it.

Loving the updates. Video was great of you arriving loved Matt's comment "I WANT TO SEE SOME PURPLE SIGNS!"

Don't you just love that moment when you first get there?!? Everyone is so silly!!

Lauren walked up behind me reading it and she said "Shae is getting so big, I want to see her again" awwwwwww

Well, we have a trip to Kings Island planned for July 31. Are ya busy? We sure would love to see you guys again, too!

I honestly don't know WHERE You find the energy!!!

This day was particularly brutal. I truly slept for 45 minutes that night. It was PURE adrenaline getting me through the day as I wasn't able to ever get that nap that always helps out. But when I hit my pillow that night... WOW! It MAYBE took a millisecond to fall asleep!

Wonder when your room is ready, ours took FOREVER!!!! I've been running into that more and more lately with our trips, oh well, your in Disney so hard to stay bitter for long.

It always seems so long when you're waiting for it, but when you look back at that day, it wasn't SO bad. I still don't understand what takes so long. But, I've never worked in the hotel industry, so I can't judge!

Too funny about the chocolate box in Club Cool, you will see that later in my report too (Luke's fave). Love your nieces faces in the shots already, the pics of the brothers and their girls on their shoulders is priceless. Enjoying the report!
Lesley

So glad to have you along, Lesley! Thanks so much for your comments!!

The kids look so excited to all finally be together, and I love the pic of the girls riding on their daddy's shoulders.

Yay for the room finally being ready, hopefully you had time to get unpacked before Ohana

And, I'll tell ya, those girls remained excited and loving and kind and just amazing the WHOLE trip. They were so sweet to each other!

Hoping to update tomorrow so you can hear all about O'Hana!

 

[basketlacey]

Great report so far! I can't wait to hear more.

I am in awe that you stayed awake from the day before - very impressive!

 

[jecskc]

I can't wait to read more. We just bought into DVC and I can't WAIT to try out the Boardwalk. It is one of two resorts that I REALLY want to stay at. The other being Grand Floridian !!

 

[MaryAz]

Great TR so far, joining in.

 

[glennbo123]

Welcome!! Two questions:
#1 Are you also a brass player? (I'm assuming yes... but you never know!)
#2 Are you the famous glennbo from Dan's TR... the one that he couldn't find in Magic Kingdom? If not, sorry!

Thanks for the welcome.

Yes, baritone (euphonium), and Yes, that's me!

 

[MNTwinsMom]

Joining in . . . You had me at band teacher and relatives from Minnesota. (I'm a proud former band geek from a family full of band geeks )

Great start to your report. You can see the PURE JOY on all of the kids faces upon their arrival at WDW. Can't wait to hear about the 2BR Boardwalk villa.

 

[Sooze]

Great report so far! I can't wait to hear more.

I am in awe that you stayed awake from the day before - very impressive!

Thanks so much! This arrival day was truly the longest I had ever stayed awake. The only time it would hit me would be if I sat down and relaxed... and with the whole family there and a five year old running around, those moments were few and far between!

I can't wait to read more. We just bought into DVC and I can't WAIT to try out the Boardwalk. It is one of two resorts that I REALLY want to stay at. The other being Grand Floridian !!

Welcome home!! Sure hope you get a chance to try the Boardwalk, and let me know how it goes! Grand Floridian?! That will have to wait until they build some DVC villas there, right? The exchange rate for points is crazy!

Great TR so far, joining in.

Welcome!!! Thanks so much for checking in!

Thanks for the welcome.

Yes, baritone (euphonium), and Yes, that's me!

Awesome! We can always use more band geeks, especially brass players!
Oooo... can I get a spoiler?! Did you and Dan ever meet up?

Joining in . . . You had me at band teacher and relatives from Minnesota. (I'm a proud former band geek from a family full of band geeks )

Great start to your report. You can see the PURE JOY on all of the kids faces upon their arrival at WDW. Can't wait to hear about the 2BR Boardwalk villa.

Welcome aboard! I LOVE when band geeks find me!! And one from MN? Even better!

If you're totally in need of something to do, if you click on the 2009 BCV or 2010 BWV Spring Break links in my signature, it will take you those trip reports... we went with another family of band geeks and it was a band geek extravaganza!!

Thanks for joining the fun!

 

[glennbo123]

Awesome! We can always use more band geeks, especially brass players!
Oooo... can I get a spoiler?! Did you and Dan ever meet up?

Sure, hey why not...here's my account of how that morning went. (We had actually already met Dan and Candi earlier in the week, but Parker was with his grandparents on that occasion.) Once Dan finishes his fictionalization of that morning, I may have to post this link on his thread to clear up all of the exaggerations and stretchings-of-the-truth.

 

[Sooze]

Sure, hey why not...here's my account of how that morning went. (We had actually already met Dan and Candi earlier in the week, but Parker was with his grandparents on that occasion.) Once Dan finishes his fictionalization of that morning, I may have to post this link on his thread to clear up all of the exaggerations and stretchings-of-the-truth.

Thanks for that! And now, it seems, I've found myself ANOTHER great Trip Report writer (Dead Man's Chess?! Hilarious!!). I'll be over later to catch up from the beginning of your TR!

 

[glennbo123]

Thanks for that! And now, it seems, I've found myself ANOTHER great Trip Report writer (Dead Man's Chess?! Hilarious!!). I'll be over later to catch up from the beginning of your TR!

Thanks! Feel free to take your time....it's a little lengthy, and is now in "Completed" status.

 

[KidaniMom]

I read your very first post and had to skip right to posting a reply. My DS (almost 13) is also Tyson! He is an avid trumpet player in the concert and jazz band at his school. My husband and I met in the UConn Marching Band and we own the Blast DVD! Can't wait to read the actual TR but I liked meeting your family.

 

[Sooze]

I read your very first post and had to skip right to posting a reply. My DS (almost 13) is also Tyson! He is an avid trumpet player in the concert and jazz band at his school. My husband and I met in the UConn Marching Band and we own the Blast DVD! Can't wait to read the actual TR but I liked meeting your family.

Get. OUT!!! I'm so glad you found me! That is so cool! Now you can go watch the Blast DVD and say, "I know that bald trumpet guy!!" You can really see him in the song where he comes down from the rafters, standing on a chair!

LOVE that you and your DH met in band! Matt and I met in Drum Corps.. we both marched with Star of Indiana (not sure if you are familiar with drum corps, but being East Coasters means you MAY have heard of it!)

Thanks for checking in, and tell Tyson we said HI! Our Tyson JUST started playing trumpet this year! What a coincidence!!

 

[Sooze]

We were so relieved that our room was finally ready that we started happily walking towards ‘home’…. Then it hit us… We had to unpack the van. UGH!!! What? Bell services and their shiny carts and strong muscles? Nope… we had NINE people with arms and legs, and we were determined to lug every thing inside on our own.

Wow… Who knew you could fit THAT much stuff in a mini van! Our 2 BR villa was on the 5th floor, overlooking the creepy clown slide. It was a beautiful room, and I LOVED that it was way up high. The walk was pretty long, especially with all of that STUFF, but after a few trips and throbbing fingers, we were IN!

Ok. This is where I’m supposed to post brilliant photos of our beautiful, clean, spacious 2BR villa. Uh…. Yeeeeaaaahh. I’m telling you, the thought didn’t even cross my mind. I was so freaking out about unpacking, loading in groceries, sending the boys to WalMart for cold stuff, and trying to figure out how I could get Shaelyn (and maybe even myself) the smallest of naps, that I completely forgot to take pictures. If you feel the need to unsubscribe at this time, I totally understand…..

Well, the next two hours was a flurry of activity!! Imagine me, my MIL and SIL whizzing about the villa unpacking all of our families’ clothing, loading food and paper products here and there in the kitchen, all the while our children are in a complete Disney craze, going out on the balconies, opening and closing doors in the villa, finding the Disney shows on the TV…. WHEW!! When the men returned with cold items, we quickly put them away, looked at each other, and started laughing!! It was so crazy what busy little bees we were.

By the time we were done, we had about 30 minutes before we were going to leave. Our plan was to walk through Epcot, take the monorail to TTC, then hop a resort monorail to the Poly. Matt would drive the van to the Contemporary to park, so he could haul tired people home at the end of the night. After much discussion (with 9 people, there is always much discussion!), we decided to just cram all 9 of us in the car and drive to the Poly. That way, we could spend another 30 minutes in the villa. YAY! This meant I could lay Shae down for about 45 minutes. SHE CRASHED!!!!

Me? I had to get rid of long ride car funk. I freshened up and spent time chatting with the family…. Yeah…. No nap! At 4:15, we finally tried to wake up Shae, who was GRUMP. EE!!!!! This girl can NAP…and 45 minutes just wasn’t cutting it! She recovered quickly when we hopped in the van, like a family of clowns!! I'm sure our seating arrangement was all kinds of illegal!

Enough talk… let’s get to the pictures, shall we?
Here are the girls posing (they do a LOT of posing) in front of a tiki man at the Poly:

I mean, seriously, aren’t they just beautiful?

Cindy, Mahna, and Avabelle were newbies to O’Hana. Of course, WE have been here multiple times… we just love it! Matt, Ben, and Pahta have been here together a few times as well… they have run the mini and full marathon the past few years, and O’Hana is a post-race tradition for them now! We were anxious to see how Mahna and Cindy liked it, but since both of them eat healthier than anyone else in the family, I look back at it now and have to laugh that we made them eat here!!

Avabelle and Shaelyn loved the pineapple bread:

I was so glad I remembered to ask our cousin/server to take a picture of all of us!

Soon, the food started FLOWING! Here are the most AMAZING pot stickers EVER, and those famous wings:

My favorite is dipping the pot stickers in the peanut sauce. OMG…. When I die, I want a bowl of that peanut sauce buried with me…. SOOOOO good!!

Since the girls really weren’t interested in that food (we ended up getting mac n cheese for them), our amazing cousin/server brought out a bunch of drink umbrellas for them to play with. They were a hit!

Please notice Shaelyn’s cheeks. They are STILL red. Uh huh…. Something going on here, and it ain’t a heat rash!

Pretty soon, the ukulele player was out doing his thing. Avabelle loved the music and was inspired to hula! Here’s a video of her exquisite dancing!


If you’ve never been to O’Hana, they bring you tons and tons of MEAT… pork, chicken, steak and shrimp. I am NOT a shrimp eater, and was shocked when Tyson asked for a whole bunch of it. Then he realized he had to pull the shell off…. Here is his face as he figured this out:

The boys were ALL ABOUT the all-you-can-eat meat fest!

I knew we were due for TONS of fun on this trip, after this meal. We were so loud and FUN… the CMs were eating us up because we were SO happy to be there, and so willing to cheer and laugh and get involved in the fun. You can imagine in the pictures above, that when a skewer of meat approached us, we went nuts, cheering and clapping. So fun!

Last time we were here, Shae spent a lot of time folding and refolding the warm towels they bring you to wipe your hands. This time, she and Avabelle used them to CLEAN. First, they cleaned themselves, then they had to go around and wipe down everyone else, then they started moving on to the restaurant itself. Here they are cleaning a totem pole:

Towards the end of the meal, I started having some serious stomach pain. It wasn’t the normal I-ate-too-much-and-can’t-move pain. It was double over and grimace, I need to use the bathroom but it’s not helping, does anyone have Gas-X pain. I hated that it was taking away from my experience, and tried not to make a big deal about it. But being the drama queen I am, I had to… it was interrupting my moment with dessert, for crying out loud!

Anyway, Avabelle enjoyed the coconut race:

And Tyson made me laugh with his totem pole antics:

Still in pain, I excused myself while the family dealt with the bill, and tried to walk around, stretch, and recover from this annoying pain. Shae and I found the dolphins:

And Cindy came to the rescue with some Gas-X.

Now… let’s put Avabelle on her 1st monorail…. And let her take her 1st steps on Main Street…. AND let’s capture the 1st time she sees the castle!!

Oh yes!! You’ll want to come back for this one!

 

[mermaid764]

Other than your stomach not feeling good and Shae's rash it sounds like Ohana was a great start to the vacation

I can't wait to see what your niece's reactions to the castle and main street were

 

[shannon47142]

this update is why I love to read your reports!! Besides your stomach pain and the red checks, the pictures of happiness of all your family makes me smile

 

[ZFamily5]

Joining in! We just got back from a trip with my aunt, uncle and cousin too! And we started our trip reports around the same time! And my sisters are almost the same ages as Shae and Tyson! I'll stop talking about all the similarities now...Sounds like you're having a great trip so far!

 

[Villainess]

Joining in! Your DD and niece are just adorable. We are going to Ohana's on our upcoming trip - first time in many years, cannot wait!

 

[Sooze]

Other than your stomach not feeling good and Shae's rash it sounds like Ohana was a great start to the vacation

I can't wait to see what your niece's reactions to the castle and main street were

Ha ha! We had medical issues, for sure! But, yes... O'hana was the PERFECT way to start the vacation!

this update is why I love to read your reports!! Besides your stomach pain and the red checks, the pictures of happiness of all your family makes me smile

Aw, thanks! Lots and lots more happiness to come!! So glad I could make you smile!

Joining in! We just got back from a trip with my aunt, uncle and cousin too! And we started our trip reports around the same time! And my sisters are almost the same ages as Shae and Tyson! I'll stop talking about all the similarities now...Sounds like you're having a great trip so far!

I love the similarities! I wish I had a 14 year old to help me with Shae and Ty sometimes... it looks like you are a great help with your siblings! Thanks for joining in on the fun!

Joining in! Your DD and niece are just adorable. We are going to Ohana's on our upcoming trip - first time in many years, cannot wait!

Thanks so much! They had the extra special Disney glow on this trip, for sure! I hope O'hana is as fabulous for you as it always is for us! Glad you get to return!!

 

[heaven2dc]

Loving your TR!! The girls look so cute looking out over the water at BWV We were on the 5th floor with a boardwalk view last year and it was a long trek to the elevators (we ended up going down the stairs and coming out at the pool area but at night took the elevator). Were Tim and Lesley there the same time you all were? And on the 5th floor too? If so, do you know if your rooms were in the same hallway? That would be SO coindidental (we were there in 2008 when another famous Dis family were in the rooms right below us but we never saw them - would love to run across a Dis family one day....oh wait, I did meet a very sweet Dis gal who passed along a stroller from the stroller/swap thread but it was a short meeting.)

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

Hey Sooze!

Your dinner at 'OHana looked so delicious and FUN! We always stay at the Polynesian and we've only eaten at 'OHana once. I loved it but my DH & DD weren't crazy about it so we've never been back. Yes, I am considering divorcing the DH and sending the DD to military school.

Sorry to hear your stomach was hurting but glad that Cindy had some Gas-X!

Poor Shae ..... hope her red cheeks/rash don't turn out to be something too bothersome. Hmmmm.....staying tuned to find out!

Debbie