Suzy and Perla Skip the Lines Again: From roughing it to the lap of luxury

[Mommy2BnB]

Yeah! You've started!

Suzy I can't imagine why you didn't want to travel to Disney with artistic Mickeys on your van!

I like the idea of the crafts in the car. My DD would love that!

Sorry about the yucky overnight stay! Sounds terrible. Suzy I don't know how you managed to sleep at all squeezed into a Dbl with 2 other people. I haven't tried any of the online travel sites for finding a hotel. I need to try that though because I think we have decided to go to the beach before we go to Disney. We aren't sure which beach yet. DH wants Cocoa Beach and I think I would prefer one on the Gulf coast side.

Love the idea of the boredom presents! I will have to try that. Do you mind sharing what you put in yours?

Hurray for arriving! DH can't read signs and drive either. He also can't seem to merge onto the interstate without me telling him if it is clear or not. I don't know what he does when I'm not with him.

 

[taymaesmom]

Yeah! I can't wait to read more!

I'm with Suzy though, no yucky hotel rooms! I will pay whatever it takes to stay in a clean room and even then I strip the beds and spray everything with Lysol.

I have to say we find Disney's signage very confusing, we always get turned around so now we just listen to the GPS.

Can't wait to hear how setting up camp went!

 

[estherhead]

I haven't tried any of the online travel sites for finding a hotel. I need to try that though because I think we have decided to go to the beach before we go to Disney. We aren't sure which beach yet. DH wants Cocoa Beach and I think I would prefer one on the Gulf coast side.

Love the idea of the boredom presents! I will have to try that. Do you mind sharing what you put in yours?

Hurray for arriving! DH can't read signs and drive either. He also can't seem to merge onto the interstate without me telling him if it is clear or not. I don't know what he does when I'm not with him.

We love online websites to make reservations. But how many nights do you want to be on the beach? Because for stays 3 nights or longer we usually use vrbo.com. Over and over we've rented properties from the owners on this site and had nothing but success. For our June trip we are using two vacation rentals from them.

But if this deosn't appeal to you, ask us for the nitty gitty on betterbidding.com.

My first boredom presents were little petshops. I actually handed these out at a gas station because I didn't want the trash in the van. They loved these! Played with them for at least an hour. Then my second were books I bought at Big Lots that had puzzles in them. This wasn't nearly as good an idea because the pieces kept falling and every other second someone had to get unbuckled to retrieve a piece. Though, that DID keep them busy, it just wasn't a safe busy.

Yeah! I can't wait to read more!

I'm with Suzy though, no yucky hotel rooms! I will pay whatever it takes to stay in a clean room and even then I strip the beds and spray everything with Lysol.

I have to say we find Disney's signage very confusing, we always get turned around so now we just listen to the GPS.

Can't wait to hear how setting up camp went!

Really? Other people have trouble with signs at Disney? I always think they are great. And we were only in the vehicles a small amount of time and I was usually doing things. Making sure about this or that, checking things with the girls, texting Suzy we are coming, etc. And the moment I would turn around he would turn the wrong way. I'm NOT kidding. I don't even know how it is possible. And then I would get in trouble because I would say, "We're going the wrong way." Which, not sure if you know this, gets a wife in BIG trouble.

That is why last year I let him drive 15 minutes out of the way last year on the way home. Which by the way, ALSO gets a wife in BIG trouble. Either way, I'm in trouble. So this year I decided instead of wasting time letting him go the wrong way I'd just be in trouble right up front. This led to our only fight of this trip. So stay tuned for that.

 

[houseful of boys]

The only eventful thing that happened here was they did not have Bagelfuls. What? Seriously, we need these for our easy breakfasts. We tried to recover, but the Bagelfuls would have been nice. My family mostly ate poptarts for breakfast.

The lack of Bagelfuls threw me. I was COUNTING on these for our breakfasts. So instead I got a bag of mini bagels and indiviual size Philadelphia cream cheese. This is important for an event that comes later, so stayed tuned.

And we were only in the vehicles a small amount of time and I was usually doing things. Making sure about this or that, checking things with the girls, texting Suzy we are coming, etc. And the moment I would turn around he would turn the wrong way.

The funny thing about this for us was Donald and Perla were always taking the lead. Except on the WDW grounds, we would be following along and all of a sudden, they would either disappear.....turn the wrong way......or (and I'm not making this up) the next thing we knew they would be actually coming at us on the other side of the road completely turned around. I felt sorry for Perla because I know it caused some friction, but it was entertainment for me.

 

[estherhead]

So, when last I left you Suzy and Milo were awaiting us in the check-in line for Fort Wilderness. I've always wondered as I read on the camping forums what exactly this looked like and hadn't seen a photo. And at all other resorts you must park and go in, stand in line, come back and drive to your room. But it sounded as if that weren't the case at the fort. But for some reason, I was still surprised to see long lines of cars, vans, and campers waiting. We pulled in behind Suzy and Milo and then Suzy and I swapped places so I was in the lead car with all the paperwork.

As I was gathering everything Mulan freaked out as there is a sign that CLEARLY says, "Please remain in vehicles." So Suzy and I were being big rule breakers. Donald tried to explain that we were both in park and it would not be at all dangerous nor would anyone yell at us and we weren't loitering outside. But just the same, she wasn't thrilled when I got out and Suzy got in.

There was a camper in front of us and for a brief moment it felt like no line was moving at all. I was so impatient! Milo entertained me by talking about coming as a child. But then he moved on and it was our turn.

The guy at the little check-in cabin was about 25. He asked me if we had any special requests, which I've never been asked that before, it took me off guard as I had settled in my heart that being our first time I would keep my mouth shut and take what I got. But then he asked! What was I supposed to do?

Because, naturally, I had researched my options, looking at the wonderful Google Earth map that some amazing person on the Camping Forum had put together and decided that the 2030's to 2040's would be perfect for us. Large spots, close to the Comfort Station, and close to a little bridge that would take us to the pool. And far away from any busy streets.

So after a split second of indecision, take what I was given or hope to get my exact spot? I went with the preparation and said: "I want mid 2030's." To which he replied, "Let me see what I can do." He then asked which children should have charging privileges (only Charming), reviewed the DDP, and handed me all our stuff.

And we got... 2035! Sweet!

We told him the car behind us was with us, he gave Donald a thing for our van too, and we were off.

We slowly drove about, me giving Milo directions, and him exclaiming, "This is just how I remember!" Which is evidently what was happening in my van too only Donald to Suzy.

And then we were at our site. But instead of excitement there was slight confusion as there was a guy breaking down a tent there. He was a CM and said, "But I haven't called this in yet." So I guess my request got us a little mix-up. We assured him we would stay out of his way and set out to find the little bridge and explore the Comfort Station.

The original plan was for the men and kids to help us unload the vans and set up the tents and then Suzy and I would finish and they could swim.

Yeah, well plans are made to be broken.

We had gotten to our site at 2:15. But then we wasted 20 minutes exploring and waiting. It took 2 solid hours with the help of every single person to get things set-up. This was disappointing for the kids but I really think they handled it well. Donald had told them he might be willing to take them swimming after dinner so that helped a bit.

Ariel, who wasn't born a natural cleaner/organizer, was assigned to take photos. And McQueen was to keep track of Jack-Jack and Boo on the bikes.

Donald and I had some issues. I had set our tent up 3 times. Donald had never set it up. Nor torn it down. Donald doesn't camp.

But Donald is the mechanical one so I always bend to his way in such matters. We work well together so there wasn't fighting, but it took a MUCH longer time than it did when I put it up without him because when I would say, "This pole goes here," he would say, "Are you sure?" To which I would say, "Look at the directions." Unlike so many men, Donald has no problem whatsoever reading and following directions. So he would. And I would be right. It is so exhausting to have the patience to be right and let people discover you are right for themselves.

Our other problem was one of our poles had gotten put away in the wrong tent bag so we had pole confusion.

Anyway, none of this was a huge deal, it just made what I had thought would be a 30 minute project more like a 60 minute project. Which note to self: Allow a full hour for setting up tent with Donald. I will say this about the experience. When Donald sets up a tent no hurricane would sweep it away. So there is that.

Here's what our vans looked like an hour in:

Here are Suzy and Milo setting up two tents in the time it took us to set up one:

And here ours is mostly set-up:

Suzy and I had spent 6 months, no maybe 12, pondering what would make a homey tent. Here are the things we decided on and that also worked. Here is my little tour of the above photo:

I need sheets and a comfortor, not sleeping bags. If it were really cold I would want a sleeping bag but it wasn't and I loved my choice. Also, there is a rug. This was HUGE in comfort as instead of tent floor which is dirty, we had a rug to sit on every morning and do hair, play with toys, etc. The rug is now an essential part of tenting for me.

Also, the pink bin out side our door was for shoes. All shoes go off & in the bucket. I also brought a little broom. Next time I'm going to bring a bigger broom.

The green bucket didn't go there. It held sunblock, Off, and after sun lotion, goggles, sunglasses, etc. Outside lotions and personal gear.

In this picture you see the bin with beach towels to the right of the door (purple) and the yellow topped see through bin which held our big plastic bags with our daily outfits. These were labelled with the day to be worn and each morning I would pull out that day's outfits and lay them on the girl's bed. Socks and hair bows were included.

So no suitcases, and no rumaging about making big messes.

Everything I chose to do was perfect. The only change, as I mentioned, is I'd bring a bigger broom. Even the little green rug inside the door ($3.00) was a great plan as it caught all the little rocks and I could just lift it up and shake it every day. I never felt dirty nor really messy. And that's pretty good since we were living in dirt.

Donald & Milo set up the food tent practically by themselves with just a bit of help. None from me.

And there is our site!

Here is Suzy's tent. Rug: check! Homey bedding: check! Clothing in an organizer and not suitcases: check!

And from the other side:

We didn't get to this point until 4:30. This is when we started changing back into our matching tees and getting cleaned up for dinner and calming the kids down who were not easily getting over the no swimming thing.

And another angle:

The hose comes with the site, we didn't bring it. We did read on the camping forums to bring a dusk to dawn timer for our twinkle lights. BEST advice ever! Loved to come back and have our site so cheery and light.

The picnic table was annoying and in the wrong place. But we left it as it seemed too much of a hassle to move it. But it made our site have definite entrances and exits. You couldn't just leave the site from any old spot. Cause there were tables and tents and tent cords. So you had a back door and a front door. Really coulda used a middle door.

And now that our site was all set up, I leave you until later. Dinner anyone?

 

[hollybearsmom]

 

[MaryAz]

Joining in for another great report!

 

[estherhead]

Kind of. We had some false starts here as we were only partially organized and still trying to find our way. So it was more of an exploration than going to a destination. As we were gathering our tickets and DDP stuff and changing and getting the strollers up, we were also dipping into our whiskey. And by we, I mean Milo and Donald. And we realized that we had coffee mugs but no cups.

Also, here is a picture of Suzy taking a quick Coke Zero break. I include this as I need you to see the mayhem that was our food area. Donald arranged this. The table in the center with 11 chairs around it. This was never Suzy and my intention and it didn't work well. This is also why Donald, who is SUPER organized, SUPER, in his own life, cannot organize our family. He cannot deal with other people not being organized. So though he had put things in bins it looked like this within 15 minutes of it being set up. As the kids all dug.

Trust me, this comes up again. Along with the bagels and cream cheese.

I next am posting the map. I leave this full sized so you can see what I am talking about next.

OK, so looking at the map we are in the 2000 loop. Bottom of the map, center. If you see the CS (Comfort Station) closest to the 2 in 2000 that is where our tent was. Right above that CS. Where the AED is. What does that stand for?

Anyway, between us and everything of any importance was a river. So we needed a bridge. If you look at the 900 you see a bridge going towards us. This is the bridge we used and it was pretty convenient. What was INCONVENIENT was that it was through a bit of woods and over a tiny bit of a grass covered hill. No big deal at all. But we had two strollers, one double ginormous one. And the bridge was rustic. We like asphalt.

But still, you use what's there, right? I wanted to take the bus, if I'm being completely honest. But Suzy talked me into, and rightly so, exploring by foot so we could get the lay of the land. Later I would protest Suzy wanting to walk everywhere as it became a lot more about avoiding buses at all costs than actually being faster or more convenient. But at this particular time, it was the right call.

So we quite literally headed off yonder, through the woods, over the hill, over the bridge, to Wilderness Cafe (not Grandma's.)

Here are the strollers. 2 kids weigh 30-35 lbs. One weighs 60. So it was a lot to be pushing about in wet grass.

We didn't let the kids come in to the Meadows Trading post with us (about a 10 minute walk if you follow the above outlined path.) It was nice. It was my only time in here and I had one directive: to buy cups for whiskey. Suzy, me, Charming, and Buzz (who hadn't listened to the no kids in here part) were the only people in here so two CM's asked if we needed anything. I said, "We are looking for whiskey cups. We have whiskey, but forgot cups to drink it in." She laughed and said, "If it was me, I'd just take these." And handed me a bunch of disposable WDW coffee cups.

So, I took 'em. First Disney store: $0.00 spent. We were off to a roaring start. And we had whiskey cups. Milo was slightly mortified that I had been so honest, but why lie? They know we're drinking. We're on vacation and camping with 7 little kids. We'd be fools to NOT be drinking.

But no matter what we drank out of these cups this week, we always referred to them as whiskey cups.

Here are the obedient kids patiently waiting:

Here we are pushing off, ready to do more exploring:

Here we are on a bridge looking towards the pool. As gorgeous as we though POR was in September, the Fort was AMAZINGLY gorgeous. Truly, every corner was a pleasure.

Here we are torturing the kids who weren't allowed to go swimming but must be marched PAST the entire pool while not being allowed to swim. I was against this, but Charming was on a basketball hoop search and Milo was trying to find the hours (so we could go swimming after dinner.)

Milo and I as a team ended up asking 3 people what time the pool closed and these were our answers: "eight o'clock." "eleven o'clock." "never." This was from 3 different CM's. What time does the Fort Pool close? I have absolutely no idea.

We did find a tennis court, but no basketball hoop (we did find it later.)

And here we are torturing the birds. This was my idea. And I like birds. I was standing on the bridge and wanted a picture of these ducks flying over. It woulda been great. So I talk Charming into getting them to fly. But they are too used to humans so he was practically on top of them before they took note of him at all and then instead of flying, ran into the shrubbery. So when all was said and done, I DID get a great picture. Of Charming torturing ducks. For no reason at all.

Here is the shot of scenery I had to settle for:

Wouldn't that have been awesome with ducks in it?

And here we are walking some more. Again, I had wanted to hop on a bus. Bus Suzy was just SURE it would be faster to walk. I just wanna say, it was fine. But we coulda taken a bus on this one. We learned nothing about the fort from doing this walk.

This is the sign when you get to the main marina area. This is where you catch the boats to MK and MK resorts, where the restaurants are, where you can see fireworks.

The other trading post. I never went in here, but I did go to the "front desk" which is a little window off the side of this building. But that is MUCH further in our story. And I would never have found it without a phone call to Disney.

The hip and cool campers, those in actual campers not trying to save a buck tent camping, never walk anywhere. The drive golf carts. The cars at the Fort drive about 5 mph and are very conscious of pedestrians. The golf carts at the Fort drive about 25 mph and are not overly interested in pedestrians. Be warned.

This is all the cool cats parking their golf carts at the settlement and hopping a boat. Way cooler than walking. Or busing.

Our view off the marina:

The boat going to MK (they had different color flags, resort color and MK color):

Suzy and I excited to be done packing/unpacking for 4 days and ready to party!

While we were standing waiting for the boat, Buzz struck up a conversation with the guy in front of us. This was his usual thing and his opening line is, "I know everything about Disney World." People immediately know that Buzz isn't "normal". He's difficult to understand, he doesn't have eye contact, and he says weird, not common phrases to get conversation started. But one of the reasons I love Disney SO MUCH is that at Disney people accept him as normal. The guy he said this to this day didn't bat an eyelash. Instead he said, "Me too! Ask me a question."

So Buzz did. And the guy got it right. Then the guy asked Buzz a question and Buzz got it wrong. So they continued for the entire time we were standing there. The guy loved it. Finally, someone appreciated his 27 years of coming to Disney World knowledge. It was like he and Buzz were best friends. He also loved our t-shirts and that we had made them ourselves.

So our first 3 real people contacts at Disney were:
1) CM at gate who gave me one of 3 spots I wanted out of the 100's that exist.
2) CM at Trading post who gave me whiskey cups.
3) Random Guest who loved Buzz and thought he was his Disney trivia soul mate.

Hmmm.... wonder why we keep going back?

 

[estherhead]

Joining in for another great report!

Welcome! I'm already enjoying writing it. It's gonna be super quick, and we'll be back!!!

 

[taymaesmom]

Wow! I am amazed at everything you managed to pack into 2 vans AND have room for 11 people! I your packing and organizing skills! I'm also impressed with how big those campsites are, you had alot set up there! But I had thought that Disney only allowed 2 tents per campsite?

Suzy- I have one thing to say . . . WOW, how much has Charming grown! I can't believe its the same kid!


Can't wait to read more!

 

[houseful of boys]

But Suzy talked me into, and rightly so, exploring by foot so we could get the lay of the land. Later I would protest Suzy wanting to walk everywhere as it became a lot more about avoiding buses at all costs than actually being faster or more convenient.

OK, OK. I admit it. Walking around this campground was EXHAUSTING!!!!!! But here was my dilemma - Milo and Jack Jack HATE busses. Milo feels awkwardly introverted at times and Jack Jack also is introverted and hates all the people next to him on the bus. In addition to this, we had the double jogging stroller. This stroller is a must because I am a mom who pushes their 7 yr old around to save me the headache of a whining, complaining kid who slows me down. (Perla and I don't like to slow down. ) BUT that stroller is a pain in the rear to put on a bus. Not to mention I have 4 boys, one of which has Asperger's and can not be trusted to remember his "personal space" limitations which makes bus transportation challenging.

So we walked. And walked. And walked. And walked. Any chance Donald had to get away from me and the walking he got on the first bus he saw.

 

[estherhead]

Wow! I am amazed at everything you managed to pack into 2 vans AND have room for 11 people! I your packing and organizing skills! I'm also impressed with how big those campsites are, you had alot set up there! But I had thought that Disney only allowed 2 tents per campsite?

Suzy- I have one thing to say . . . WOW, how much has Charming grown! I can't believe its the same kid!


Can't wait to read more!

We discovered that the Fort is a relaxed place where there aren't a lot of rules. So I had read on here that we could only have one vehicle parked in our spot. We never got anything on this subject and we parked both vehicles easily at our site. And no one batted an eye.

Any chance Donald had to get away from me and the walking he got on the first bus he saw.

. We weren't at the fort long enough for me to figure this all out and Donald is soooo independent that he just disappears, no inviting me. The girls and I were on our own. But by day three I started taking buses and once we switched to the Dolphin, I took the boat. Every single time. Suzy's explanation doesn't hold water with me cause you don't have to fold the stroller down and you don't have to sit with people at the Dolphin boat and she still walked. Cause she just blames Milo and Jack. Truth is, she isn't willing to wait at a bus/boat stop for longer than 2 seconds. She'd rather walk and get to the park 2 seconds earlier.

 

[houseful of boys]

Suzy- I have one thing to say . . . WOW, how much has Charming grown! I can't believe its the same kid!

I know! He's only 13 but he's a freshman in high school. This weekend he took the ACT and shaved for the first time. I'm not ready!!!!!!

But by day three I started taking buses and once we switched to the Dolphin, I took the boat. Every single time. Suzy's explanation doesn't hold water with me cause you don't have to fold the stroller down and you don't have to sit with people at the Dolphin boat and she still walked. Cause she just blames Milo and Jack. Truth is, she isn't willing to wait at a bus/boat stop for longer than 2 seconds. She'd rather walk and get to the park 2 seconds earlier.

Alright Perla. Yes, I hate waiting at a bus/boat stop. I stand by my earlier comments, but there is the additional hatred I have of waiting on a bus. It seems to take sooooo long and you have no control over when they come. Could be 2 minutes, could be 20. But, that said, the Dolphin boats were another matter. I always took the boat to DHS but those boats are SLOW!!!!!!! I could have crawled to EPCOT faster than the boat got there.

 

[estherhead]

Alright Perla. Yes, I hate waiting at a bus/boat stop. I stand by my earlier comments, but there is the additional hatred I have of waiting on a bus. It seems to take sooooo long and you have no control over when they come. Could be 2 minutes, could be 20. But, that said, the Dolphin boats were another matter. I always took the boat to DHS but those boats are SLOW!!!!!!! I could have crawled to EPCOT faster than the boat got there.

I did call those boats the slow boat to China. But perhaps if we were leisurely walking things would have gone differently. But again, no. We hightailed every where we went. And if you don't believe Suzy hightails it everywhere, stay tune for our first day at MK! I have photographic proof there was NO crawling.

And as for the waiting, take it from me, those of us riding buses and boats never waited for them longer than 5 minutes. 20 minutes? Only from the AllStars to DTD. Not on this trip.

Not bitter, Just keepin' it real.

 

[WalkingintheFog]

It's 8:30 here on the Rock, I've been up since before 6, and sat back with a cuppa to do some DisReading. Headed to the dream forum (camping!), and catching up!

You ladies are my idols!

Bring on the camp stories!

Have to ask: Did you purchase LIME GREEN tent/shelter on purpose? or was that serendipity?

 

[estherhead]

It's 8:30 here on the Rock, I've been up since before 6, and sat back with a cuppa to do some DisReading. Headed to the dream forum (camping!), and catching up!

You ladies are my idols!

Bring on the camp stories!

Have to ask: Did you purchase LIME GREEN tent/shelter on purpose? or was that serendipity?

I got up early too, but then went back to bed.

Thanks. I fell in love with camping due to that wonderful camping forum.I have another trip (local) planned in May and another in July (again local). It's awesome.

The amazing lime green tent was Suzy's purchase. She looked high and low at screen houses and this is the one she loved. Was the fact that it happened to be lime green part of that love? . I'm gonna say yes. I loved it being lime green and will be borrowing it constantly since she doesn't feel as in love with camping as me.

 

[Riviera510]

Suzy I cant believe how tall Charming has gotten. From reading past trip reports I've seen him grow up a bit and wow, now he is even taller than his dad from those pictures just posted.

Was there any middle of the night trips to the bathroom? That is one of the reasons we upgraded our popup camper to a travel trailer with a bathroom.

Reading this trip report has gotten me excited about our summer camping trips this year. We do about 6 camping trips from Memorial weekend - Halloweekend.

I cant wait to hear about the rest of your vacation and then the planning on your June trip.

 

[estherhead]

Suzy I cant believe how tall Charming has gotten. From reading past trip reports I've seen him grow up a bit and wow, now he is even taller than his dad from those pictures just posted.

Was there any middle of the night trips to the bathroom? That is one of the reasons we upgraded our popup camper to a travel trailer with a bathroom.

Reading this trip report has gotten me excited about our summer camping trips this year. We do about 6 camping trips from Memorial weekend - Halloweekend.

I cant wait to hear about the rest of your vacation and then the planning on your June trip.

My discussion of the bathroom in the middle of the night begins in two more posts. We've got the Whispering Canyon Cafe, and then our first night sleeping at the Fort. So stay tuned to hear the answer to a middle aged woman's biggest cliff-hanger: How much of a hassle was it to pee at 2 am?

Which brings me to a total side point, does anyone else watch period films and wonder where they are peeing? And if people smelled gross? I love Jane Austen and other period films but I always find my mind drifting as I watch them elegantly talking and dancing at a summer party, "I wonder how badly they all smelled with no anti-persperant?" And, "Did they have a whole ton of outhouses? Did they go stand in line in their elegant crushed silk with their corsets tight as can be and pee?" I mean, did you try to pee while in your wedding dress? It took 15 minutes and 5 people.

Anyhow: stay tuned. We've changed and made progress on our June trip already and you all are missing that so I'm trying to boogy on this so I can start our PTR by two weeks out at the latest.

 

[estherhead]

OK, I do intend on cruising on this TR. However, I cannot truthfully begin our actual touring without our Photopass BBB pictures. So I've been tirelessly correcting them, editing, and adding cool little autographs, borders, and logos.

Sadly, DisneyPhotopass.com is a TERRIBLE website. Grrrr.... I swear to God, when all is said and done I will have spent more time on the photopass website than actually AT Disney World.

So, be assured, I'm working hard to get this TR done, despite Disney thwarting me at every turn. I will be victorious!!!

 

[estherhead]

Before you think I mean this trip goes down, let me correct you. Nothing about this trip went down hill.

No, what I'm talking about is my eating habits. Which are STILL in shambles after this trip. I CANNOT stop eating. And it ALL started right here at the Whispering Canyon Cafe.

At the time I thought it was a temporary setback. Now I realize I've been turned into an eating machine that will not be satisfied. Be warned. From here on out, this trip report is not for those on diets. Nor those who are vegans. Nor those who particularly like vegetables. Because from here on out it is mostly cupcakes for everyone. Be warned.

It started out innocently enough with a wonderful boat ride. I'd had a little snack (as had the kids) at the campsite so I wasn't thinking about food at all, despite being on my way to dinner.

Here is what I was thinking: "I'm at DISNEY WORLD!" That was number one. Number two: "I hope we aren't late." Our Adr was for 6:10. Suzy's for 6:05, I believe. And we were certainly pushing 6 o'clock. Number three: "I LOVE this boat ride. I LOVE Wilderness Lodge."

I first fell in love with this group of trees on my first boat ride to Whispering Canyon Cafe a few years ago on a trip with just my mom, Suzy, me, and Jack-Jack on our way to Artist Point. Ahhh, sweet memory. They are still there. Draped in spanish moss, housing wonderful birds.

Say it with me: Wilderness Lodge is AWESOME!

I need to say this. And everyone in the world can hate me. I will accept the wrath. I've said it before. But I need to say it again. The Wilderness Lodge is modeled after the Yellowstone Lodge in the actual wilderness. It is an amazing building. But here is the thing. The Wilderness Lodge is better. Donald and I agree. The Yellowstone Lodge is a dark and bleak and old and worn. For some this is it's charm. But for us, we like the new and improved version.

These are all horrible pictures and not at all convincing. I'm buying a better camera. Plus, you can't get a good picture of it. Because it is too awesome.

OK, so I'm gonna shut up about how much we love this whole thing and go back to the here and now.

We had an uneventful boat ride. We got off the boat and marched ourselves past the fake Old Faithful (which is truly pitiful compared to the real one, like stupid that it exists pitiful.) And past the pool. Milo and I, pushing the strollers, turned right up the wheel chair ramp, while Suzy and Donald went straight into the main lobby and over to check-in. It was 6:15ish when we checked in.

Here are the kids entertaining themselves:

Donald and I were seated within 5 minutes. Suzy and her clan weren't seated until 6:40 p.m.

And THIS is why we normally eat at off times. Because, we HATE to wait in lines. Whether it is for a ride, or for dinner, it's still a line. And lines are annoying.

So our little flashy thingie went off right quick and we were seated. Our table was about 3 away from the waiting room so we could still see them waiting for a full 20 minutes into our meal. Here is our table:

Our server was a girl and she told us she'd be with us. She had quite a few tables and was a busy little bee. As well as getting people drinks, meals, desserts, checks, she also was full of antics, dancing, and sarcasm. She was great. But for some reason she made me slightly uncomfortable. Plus, for some reason I wasn't into antics this evening. I didn't want ketchup. I didn't want to dance nor joke with the whole room. Which is odd because I do normally. But this evening I really would have preferred just a quiet meal in a corner somewhere.

But after a bit of a wait she took our orders, thoroughly explaining the DDP to us.

Here is my salad:

And our drinks & bread:

Boo LOVES butter and LOVED this cornbread. At one point she had some leftover on her plate and Donald went to take a bite. She freaked out! Guess she was enjoying her bread.

While we were enjoying the above, here was Charming and what he was doing:

Good times. Good times.

So they were finally settled at their table, about 3 away from us at a window. While they were ordering drinks, our food arrived and an immediate need for ketchup. Boo was HORRIBLE at asking for ketchup. The server insisted she stood up and yelled for it. She has a nice strong voice, believe me. But not even a person with huge ears coulda heard her cry for ketchup. But somehow we still managed to get some:

Mulan had gotten a steak like her daddy. This thing is smoked and Donald loves it.

Ok, now here is where my eating habits begin to go awry. I'm a Weight Watcher person, through and through. Both Suzy and I have been basically at goal (she likes to be REALLY skinny so she'll tell you she isn't at goal, but really she is obviously at a healthy weight) for the last 8 years, minus a pregnancy here and there. 29 points plus, people. That's not a lot of food.

Here is what I ordered as it looked when sat down in front of me (I stuck the spoons in so you can see how gigantic it is):

And here it is when I was done, so stuffed I couldn't eat dessert and Donald and Ariel both ate the ribs and some brisket. So it looks like I had 2 bites. But seriously, I was gonna BURST!

So now you see how little my tummy was when I arrived at WDW. Sigh. This was the beginning of a binge I'm still in the heat of.

At this point here is where the Suzy clan was:

Donald tried to give them some ketchup in a preemptive strike. But Suzy brought it back over nipping that thwarting the bud.

They quickly received their food and more than just one of them got the skillet. Charming, if you've followed us before, is a mashed potato expert. You can see that WCC potatoes were up to par by how many he left behind:

And also, you can see they did receive their ketchup in the proper form, a zillion bottles.

By this point Donald received his dessert, bread pudding. He is a big bread pudding fan and he only ranked this middle of the road. That being said, however, he was stuffed before it arrived and still ate every single bite. So I think the ranking should be closer to: Raglan Road: best ever. Mine with bourbon sauce: second best ever. This one. Everything else.

Mulan and I both ordered our desserts to go. I got s'mores cheesecake and she got apple pie. This comes up later, so pay attention.

Boo needed to go potty. When I got back, many in our group were doing the hokey pokey. I'm sorry but I don't have a picture, shocking I know. But some of us were eating, others were dancing, and still others were video taping. But I'm quite sure you can envision all of us doing the hokey pokey. Just put Buzz flailing about right in front of camera so you can't really see anyone else, and you have our lame video of this event.

Coming up in our next episode: How we end our evening and did anyone potty in the middle of the night?