Sweet Caroline, Bum, Bum, Bum. A Groovy Mother/Daughter Trip Nov/Dec 2016. Updated 6/6 X 5! The End

[rteetz]

Oh man your poor mother! I had a problem like that at Red Robin once. Lemonade all over me. We got nothing out of it either.

I've never done Yak and Yeti but it does look good!

I'm surprised you didn't like the Tree Awakenings. I loved it. There is a pre show of sorts where they literally make it look like the animals on the tree are moving.

 

[missangelalexis]

Oh no, poor Mom! That's really unfortunate that your server wasn't more apologetic. I'm glad it didn't ruin the meal, all the food looks delicious.

So cool that you all got your own car on Dinosaur!

What a nice treat seeing the fireworks from your room!

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

I have never eaten at Yak & Yeti either. I always figured that we would all be too picky. I might have to go just for dessert though.

 

[missjackiemcg]

I love that you ordered that fancy fish dish at Yak and Yeti!! You always say how picky you are, so I NEVER would have expected you to order that!! It actually looked pretty good, I have to say Your poor Mom though!!! That really stinks that the waitress didn't even care she did it One time we were eating at Liberty Inn or whatever the quick serve in America is called at Epcot---we were sitting next to a garbage can and this poor CM knocked the stack of trays off the top and into my lap. I was fine and she seemed mortified, so I didn't make a big deal about it. She came back to our table and gave all of us chocolate covered Mickey rice krispie treats as an apology. It makes such a difference just to know they feel bad about it, even if it was an accident!!

The new magicbands look so bulky, I'm glad to hear you say they're more flexible fitting than they appear.

 

[Pluto0809]

Oh man your poor mother! I had a problem like that at Red Robin once. Lemonade all over me. We got nothing out of it either.

I've never done Yak and Yeti but it does look good!

I'm surprised you didn't like the Tree Awakenings. I loved it. There is a pre show of sorts where they literally make it look like the animals on the tree are moving.

I was at least expecting her to send a manager to talk to us but nothing. We were on the meal plan so maybe that's why we didn't get an discounts.

It was very good and despite the problems, I would go back.

Maybe we were just too far away. At one point Mom turned to me and said "Is that a bird or Tinkerbell?" I honestly couldn't tell myself so I do think I need to give it another chance and just stand closer.

Oh no, poor Mom! That's really unfortunate that your server wasn't more apologetic. I'm glad it didn't ruin the meal, all the food looks delicious.

So cool that you all got your own car on Dinosaur!

What a nice treat seeing the fireworks from your room!

I felt so bad for her but we did enjoy the food that's for sure.

I'm not sure how else they would have handled a party of nine? I doubt they would do four, four and one. It definitely was nice to have it all to ourselves.

It was very cool to see the fireworks although I think that was the only night we got to enjoy them. The timing just didn't work for any other night.

I have never eaten at Yak & Yeti either. I always figured that we would all be too picky. I might have to go just for dessert though.

Dessert was amazing! And there is a hamburger on the menu for more picky people. I probably would have gotten that if the Catch of the Day was a fish I didn't like.

I love that you ordered that fancy fish dish at Yak and Yeti!! You always say how picky you are, so I NEVER would have expected you to order that!! It actually looked pretty good, I have to say Your poor Mom though!!! That really stinks that the waitress didn't even care she did it One time we were eating at Liberty Inn or whatever the quick serve in America is called at Epcot---we were sitting next to a garbage can and this poor CM knocked the stack of trays off the top and into my lap. I was fine and she seemed mortified, so I didn't make a big deal about it. She came back to our table and gave all of us chocolate covered Mickey rice krispie treats as an apology. It makes such a difference just to know they feel bad about it, even if it was an accident!!

The new magicbands look so bulky, I'm glad to hear you say they're more flexible fitting than they appear.

Well, as fancy as it was I did modify it a bit. I got the sauce on the side which I didn't eat. I scraped what ever that was on the top of the fish off. I really just at the fish itself, the rice and a few bites of the Succotash.

I think the difference in our service that day was because Yak and Yeti is not a Disney owned restaurant. I'm not even sure if their employees are considered CMs.

The Magic Bands are definitely much more comfortable than I thought they would be.

 

[Pluto0809]

Here's a quick real life update then I'm going to post the next TR update right after so you may want to wait to comment for a bit. There will be two more posts after this one.

First of all, Ellie had her first grooming this weekend. She now looks even more like Alex, just a bit smaller.





She's still doing great and settling in well. Remy, Alex and Sierra were a bit miserable this weekend as they all have colds. Poor Remy is the worse, little guy is blowing snot bubbles. But they are all eating and drinking fine and there is really nothing you can do for a cold other than let it run it's course. I'm just hoping that poor Eddie doesn't get it at his age.

Second bit of news, I don't think I posted it here but Jim got me the Disney Lego castle for Christmas and I finally got it finished! First up, some progress pictures.























And here's the finished product with close ups of the different rooms on the back.













It's going to be displayed in my Pluto room. I really enjoyed building it and I'm hoping Lego will come out with some more "adult" Disney sets. I would love to build some of the other park icons or maybe even some of the more distinct resorts like the Contemporary.

OK, on to the next TR update!

 

[Pluto0809]

I Like Warm Hugs Part 1

We woke up on Monday, November 28, 2016 feeling refreshed after our early lights out the night before. We were ready and out the door by 7:15 am.

My ankle though was still in bad shape. I’m pretty sure I took this picture the night before but it was still this swollen the next morning. My ankle swells every day but it’s usually back to normal after a good night’s sleep. If you are squeamish and don’t like to see pictures of feet, you may want to skip down past this next picture.



I didn’t want Mom to worry so I didn’t say anything about it, just trekked on and dealt with the pain.

I remembered to take a few pictures as we walked through Pop Century that morning.





I also took some of the food court as it was still quite empty that morning. I was impressed with the To-Go Station. I don’t remember ever seeing one of those at any of the other resorts I’ve stayed at.









We both decided to go with a little lighter fare on this morning. Mom had originally thought we were eating dinner at Mama Melrose but I changed it to lunch since I was surprising her with the Jingle Bell Jingle Bam dessert party that night. I told her about the dinner/lunch switch but didn’t tell her what the surprise was at this point. I went with my old standard for breakfast, a bagel and banana.



Mom got a yogurt parfait and some Nilla wafers.



Mom didn’t finish all of the Nilla wafers so that was her excuse that morning to come back to the room with me although I would have been perfectly fine carrying those by myself along with our mugs.

We made it to the bus stop a little after 8 am and this was probably our longest wait for a bus. It was right at 15 minutes before we were on our way to Hollywood Studios.

They were already letting people into the park when we got there but I already knew I wouldn’t be riding Toy Story Mania on this trip so I didn’t hurry us that morning. Even though it’s my favorite, I got our 1st Tier FP for Rockin' Roller Coaster which is Mom’s favorite, and there was no way I was making Mom do the TSM dash. We stopped and got a locker because Mom didn’t want to carry her sweatshirt all day and then we went in the opposite direction of the crazy TSM crowd and got in line to meet Olaf. There were about five families in front of us and we waited about 15 minutes total but only because it wasn’t 9 am yet when we got in line.

I don’t remember too much about the greet, we got hugs and a picture and that was about it. For some reason I only have one picture. I thought there were more but maybe I didn’t upload them.



Olaf can’t sign autographs with his stick hands so we were each given a card with his signature.





We exited the Olaf greet near the entrance to the new Mickey & Minnie greet. There was not a soul around and the CM at the line entrance practically begged us to come in. I wasn’t going to say no to that so we walked through the completely empty line to go see them. Minnie was up first but we had to wait a minute for her because she had gone to the next room to visit with Mickey and they had to call her back. I was excited for this Minnie because I didn’t have a picture with her in her Hollywood dress.




I feel bad that I was blocking half of Minnie’s face with my bushy hair.





Up next was Sorcerer Mickey. I have met him in this costume before but I really liked the new background.







It was time for our first FP of the day so we headed towards Sunset Blvd. The FP wasn’t for this beauty yet.



Instead we hung a left and headed towards one of my least favorite rides. Not that I don’t like the ride itself I just find it a bit too rough and I usually come off with a headache and upset stomach. I was only riding it on this day since its Mom’s favorite. I avoid it any other time.



We were on in no time with our FP and of course I had to do Devil Horns in the ride photo. I think those are pretty much required for RnRC.



Continued in Next Post

 

[Pluto0809]

I Like Warm Hugs Part 2

I managed to survive the ride mostly unscathed but knew I couldn’t do TOT immediately after which was our second FP of the day. I timed it so we had some time in-between and we shopped our way up one side of Sunset Blvd and back down the other.

We stopped for a set of FP pictures along the way.











We didn’t buy anything at that point and we headed back to TOT to use our FP. I’m pretty sure we got our pictures done before we started shopping and you can see by this next one, the crowds had really started to arrive by the time we headed back down the street.







We really do love this ride and have a blast on it. For some reason on this trip, we never got any ride photos or videos that I did not scan my Magic Band for. But luckily I’m paranoid about that and always scan my band for the pictures if possible. I’d rather have two copies than none!



Our next FP was for Indiana Jones at 11:30 (show at 12 pm) which really wasn’t going to work with our lunch ADR at 12:35 pm. I hadn’t changed it though because there really wasn’t anything else we wanted. We did have some time after TOT before our lunch ADR so I asked Mom if she would like to see Launch Bay. She’s really not a Star Wars fan at all but she said she would like it since it was new to her. So we headed in that direction.





I took very few photos since I had been there before and had taken a lot then. I did try for this photo again because my last one turned out blurry. I didn’t have much better luck this time!



The only other photo I took was this next one and I have no idea why.



We walked through quickly since Mom wasn’t all that interested in the stuff. We did walk all around the store at the exit as I was looking for something to buy Jim but I didn’t find anything new that I thought he would like.

When we exited, I noticed Pluto meeting in the courtyard with barely anyone in line. Mom had gotten a text from a friend so she said she would find a place to sit and answer the text while I got in line. Pluto meet accomplished in Park #2 for this trip! I think I waited less than 5 minutes.





I found Mom sitting on a ledge around a planter and she was shocked to see me done already. She still wasn’t finished with her text so I sat down next to her and hopped on MDE to see what was available. Our Indiana Jones FP had expired will we were in Launch Bay and I wanted to see what I could find for a 4th FP. I clicked though a couple of different options, there wasn’t much available and I was about to grab us a Great Movie Ride FP when I decided to try one more option. I clicked on the time specific tab, I think it was 3 pm or something like that and there it was, the impossible to get 4th FP, TSM! You better believe I grabbed that puppy fast! It wasn’t till 3:35 pm and we probably wouldn’t get to ride GMR but I really didn’t care at that point.

It was now almost time for our lunch ADR so we started back in that direction. I was really sad to see the Muppet fountain turned into a planter although I’ve since read that it might go back to a fountain someday.



I don’t think I remember seeing this Santa in that area. Always look up at Disney!



We were originally going to eat at PizzeRizzo for lunch so we stopped in just to see the place before proceeding to Mama Melrose.





The order area was greatly expanded from when it used to be Pizza Planet.



The dining room seemed kind of plain compared to the old decorations and video games everywhere.



I swear we walked upstairs too but I don’t have any pictures. Maybe we didn’t and I’m just thinking of all the pictures I looked at online.

Up Next: Wow That Hurt But I Think it Fixed the Problem

 

[missangelalexis]

Ellie is such a cutie!

Woah the lego castle came out awesome, nice work!

Sorry to hear your ankle still was bugging you this morning,

Cute pic with Olaf! And with Minnie & Mickey!

Glad you didn't feel too bad when you got off RnR. I'm sure your mom was happy to go on her favorite ride!

Nice getting to meet Pluto with a short wait. Love the pics!

Yay how lucky scoring a TSM FP!

 

[rteetz]

I really want that Lego Castle but I also don't want to spend $350....

Great pictures with Olaf, Minnie, and Mickey! I didn't get a chance to see Olaf. My sister really wanted to but we never made it.

I love that your mom loves RnRc and will do ToT. My grandma who is probably around the same age as your mom will not do either.

The fountain was shut off due to construction and thats why it is a planter currently. It is supposed to return to a fountain eventually.

 

[missjackiemcg]

Jimmy LOVED meeting Olaf and was SO excited because the CM while we were waiting drew that Olaf picture in his autograph book for him since Olaf couldn't sign it himself. He was just over the moon about having it in his book!! I, of course, had to take one of the little autograph beach ball cards, too

Devil Horns are an absolute MUST especially on Rock'n Rollercoaster!! You didn't happen to find my phone while you were there, did you? I have been calling Disney Lost and Found weekly since we got back and they STILL haven't retrieved my phone from under the exit area :-/ I guess I may never get that back.

I found that we were able to get a surprising number of 4th FPs on our trip, too!! This was the first time I ever really remembered to even look at what was available after using our 3! This came in especially handy on NYE!

 

[rndmr2]

Great update!

I'm not a fan of ToT and I have been too much of a wimp to try RnRC.

Looking forward to the Mama Melrose lunch (we had dinner there in 2010) and the Dessert party.

Awesome score on the TSMM FP+!!

 

[Chicago Mo]

hello friend! I miss a lot!
yes i did get the jacket! and I LOVE IT! so comfy!

this just makes me so angry with the spilled drink i cannot even tell you. You should have sent mom on a wild goose chase while you went back into Y&Y and give them a piece of your mind!
all your picture are amazing you do such a great job. the Millennium Falcon picture is awesome too because its the MILLENNIUM FALCON!

your Mom is so cute i love your trips with her. i told Peanut today we need a mom daughter trip which the boys got mad. so i guess 3 trips right??
when i win the lottery

i can[t remember everything i just read. I blame it on being sick.

But i am back PROMISE to stay up to date here!

 

[Pluto0809]

Ellie is such a cutie!

Woah the lego castle came out awesome, nice work!

Sorry to hear your ankle still was bugging you this morning,

Cute pic with Olaf! And with Minnie & Mickey!

Glad you didn't feel too bad when you got off RnR. I'm sure your mom was happy to go on her favorite ride!

Nice getting to meet Pluto with a short wait. Love the pics!

Yay how lucky scoring a TSM FP!

Thanks, she's definitely a cutie which is good because she's also bad a lot and the cuteness helps us to forgive her. Just puppy stuff, she loves to chew!

I was really happy with the Disney castle. I've already moved it down to a shelf in the Pluto room.

Stay tuned on the ankle, there's an update in the next post.

I was really glad to add Olaf and Hollywood Minnie to my list of characters.

Mom loves RnRC! I used to also, I wish I could still enjoy it.

I was surprised at how short Pluto's line was but maybe people didn't realize he had moved back there. I didn't know that until I saw him that day.

I was so excited to get that TSM FP!

I really want that Lego Castle but I also don't want to spend $350....

Great pictures with Olaf, Minnie, and Mickey! I didn't get a chance to see Olaf. My sister really wanted to but we never made it.

I love that your mom loves RnRc and will do ToT. My grandma who is probably around the same age as your mom will not do either.

The fountain was shut off due to construction and thats why it is a planter currently. It is supposed to return to a fountain eventually.

I wasn't going to spend the money but Jim got it for me so I wasn't going to complain!

Olaf was top of the list for me since I hadn't met him before. I plan on going after Moana and maybe Joy and Sadness if I can catch a shorter line in a few days!

I keep thinking Mom will slow down on those kind of rides but she just keeps dragging me on them. She loved California Screamin' out at Disneyland.

I'm so glad to know it will be a fountain again someday.

Jimmy LOVED meeting Olaf and was SO excited because the CM while we were waiting drew that Olaf picture in his autograph book for him since Olaf couldn't sign it himself. He was just over the moon about having it in his book!! I, of course, had to take one of the little autograph beach ball cards, too

Devil Horns are an absolute MUST especially on Rock'n Rollercoaster!! You didn't happen to find my phone while you were there, did you? I have been calling Disney Lost and Found weekly since we got back and they STILL haven't retrieved my phone from under the exit area :-/ I guess I may never get that back.

I found that we were able to get a surprising number of 4th FPs on our trip, too!! This was the first time I ever really remembered to even look at what was available after using our 3! This came in especially handy on NYE!

I enjoyed meeting Olaf since he was new to me but we didn't get a whole lot of interaction. So cool what the CM did for Jimmy.

Yep, must have devil horns on RnRC! Nope didn't see your phone but then again it would have had to travel back in time since I was there before you.

We actually had horrible luck with 4th FP other than the TSM one. I don't think I got any others if I'm remembering correctly.

Great update!

I'm not a fan of ToT and I have been too much of a wimp to try RnRC.

Looking forward to the Mama Melrose lunch (we had dinner there in 2010) and the Dessert party.

Awesome score on the TSMM FP+!!

Thanks! I've always loved thrill rides but I guess I'm just getting too old for them. I never used to get sick on them but now I have to take motion sickness pills. Plus they hurt sometimes!

Mama Melrose is a favorite, update coming right up.

I was so excited to get that TSM FP!

hello friend! I miss a lot!
yes i did get the jacket! and I LOVE IT! so comfy!

this just makes me so angry with the spilled drink i cannot even tell you. You should have sent mom on a wild goose chase while you went back into Y&Y and give them a piece of your mind!
all your picture are amazing you do such a great job. the Millennium Falcon picture is awesome too because its the MILLENNIUM FALCON!

your Mom is so cute i love your trips with her. i told Peanut today we need a mom daughter trip which the boys got mad. so i guess 3 trips right??
when i win the lottery

i can[t remember everything i just read. I blame it on being sick.

But i am back PROMISE to stay up to date here!

Mo! So glad to see you back here. I still haven't made it back to yours to catch up. I got caught up on one or two threads then got busy and am right back to square one. It's hard enough writing two TRs and next week I'll be writing three!

I should have done something about the drink but I am such a turtle when it comes to conflict and confrontations that I usually let those things drop.

True, the Millennium Falcon is pretty cool, that's probably why I took it.

Yep, better start playing the lottery so you can take each of the on solo trips!

Bummer, didn't know you were sick, hope you are feeling better now.

 

[Pluto0809]

Wow That Hurt But I Think it Fixed the Problem

2 days till my next trip! Here's an update to hold you over. I will be writing three TRs when I get back which is just a little crazy.

We checked in for our 12:35 pm Mama Melrose ADR about 10 minutes early. I know we waited a few minutes but I don’t think it was long before we were called.

As we were walking towards our table, I managed to somehow trip over my own feet. Holy crap did that hurt my already painful ankle. It was tears in your eyes painful. Luckily Mom was in front of me and didn’t see what happened or she would have been worried. Funny thing though, whatever I did when I tripped must have put something back in place. Because once the pain subsided, I had no troubles at all with the ankle the rest of the week.

We were seated near the middle of the restaurant and this was our view. A large family was seated at that empty table next to us soon after we sat down.



I was immediately disappointed to find out that my favorite dish, Penne Pasta with Chicken, was no longer on the menu. I hate when restaurants take a favorite away! But the rolls that came out right away were delicious.



I felt bad for our waitress because she was super busy and a little frazzled. She apologized more than once about being slow and told us they were a little short staffed that day and she had more tables than she was used too. Despite the somewhat slower service, she was very nice and so much better than the one from the day before at Yak and Yeti.

I ended up ordering Chicken Parmigiana, hold the cheese.



Despite not being my favorite dish, this was still delicious and I enjoyed every bite.

Mom got her usual Penna alla Vodka, hold the Pancetta.



For dessert Mom got the Cheesecake and I got chocolate Gelato.





We both love Mama Melrose and enjoyed yet another meal there. We will definitely be back there again on our next trip!

While we were eating I finally revealed the surprise and told Mom about the Dessert Party we were doing that night. She was really excited and couldn’t wait to check it all out.

After lunch, we headed over to the Muppet store. I was wearing a Muppet shirt and carrying my Kermit bag so I needed some photos with the big Kermit outside the store.





We then spent some time in both the Muppet store and the Christmas store but didn’t find anything to buy at that time. While we were shopping, I checked the MDE App and saw that the Great Movie Ride only had a 15 minute wait. Mom hadn’t ridden it since they added the TCM stuff so we headed there next.

A few photos from our short wait.

















Once we got on the ride, something was not right with the sound and we couldn’t hear anything our driver was saying. Oh well, so much for Mom experiencing the changes. Since I couldn’t hear, I did what I do best, and took lots of pictures!





We got Gangster as usual. In all my trips since 2010 I’ve only seen the Cowboy scene twice.















We still had some time before our TSM FP so what better way to spend it than shopping. So we headed to Hollywood Boulevard to check out the stores and of course I found a few things to buy. I got a new Pluto shirt, here’s the front.





And the back. You may have already noticed this one in my Disneyland TR.



I got this cute little Pluto key chain mirror.





A pair of Mickey Earrings.



And I also got a Pluto mug. The CM wrapped it really well so I didn’t unwrap it till I got home. Then I forgot to take a picture. The CM that waited on me for the mug also presented me with this pin since I told her I loved Pluto.



Mom also found a pair of Mickey earring she liked but I didn’t get a picture. I’m pretty sure I didn’t get pictures of any of her souvenirs the rest of the week. We dropped our bags at our locker and headed back to Pixar Place for our TSM FP. I still didn’t get over 200,000 but I wasn’t upset with my score.



And as usual I was best in vehicle.



After TSM, we still had a little time until we had to line up for the dessert party so we visited One Man’s Dream where I took a total of zero pictures. Then we went and saw the Moana preview. I hadn’t been super excited about the movie but the preview definitely helped. And I did like the movie when I saw it a few weeks later. Not my all-time favorite but I do love Hei Hei. He reminded both Jim and I of our Eddie who has never been the sharpest tool in the shed.

Up Next: Jingle Bell Jingle Bam Dessert Party and Show

 

[missjackiemcg]

Yep, must have devil horns on RnRC! Nope didn't see your phone but then again it would have had to travel back in time since I was there before you.

Oooooooh, yeah I guess it would have been difficult to spot then!!!

2 days till my next trip! Here's an update to hold you over. I will be writing three TRs when I get back which is just a little crazy.

Oh, my gosh, that came up SO FAST!!!! Have an amazing time!!! Say goodbye to Wishes for me (sniff, sniff)

I do love Hei Hei. He reminded both Jim and I of our Eddie who has never been the sharpest tool in the shed.

Aww, poor little Eddie. But I must agree, Hei Hei really did add something lovable to Moana! I really like the music, too!

 

[rteetz]

Three Trip Reports! That's a lot of work but awesome as well!

Mama Melrose looks good. I still have yet to go there.

Shopping is always fun. Of course the Pluto stuff is the focus. I love that pin they gave you! Those types of experiences are always the best.

Great TSMM score! I want to know how the person who got best of the month got 501,000.

 

[missangelalexis]

I guess tripping was both a blessing and curse! Stinks that it was so painful but at least it helped your ankle in the long run!

I'm glad you had another good meal at Mama Melrose, and that mom liked the surprise!

What a bummer that the sound wasn't working on GMR!

I like the purchases you made, especially the shirt and keychain. That was cute of the CM to make you that button.

I still have to see Moana!

 

[Chicago Mo]

Great Update!
so sorry your pasta is no longer on the menu BUT you found something just as good!
Thankfully i know all about this trip or i would be really worried about you and your ankle! we still have never been there. Can't get away from Sci-fi. and finally FINALLY going to 50's prime time.
You were by the muppets and didn't go see the show. I am disappointed in you.
FOR SHAME

So happy you were able to ride your beloved TSM! and love your "as usual i got best in ride"
snot.
cheater.
Still love ya.

Awesome shopping goodies! funny you go the pin for it all. Perfect for you!

BOO on not hearing The great movie ride or as we all call it: the Just OK Movie Ride.

Three TR's.
I cannot keep up with the ONE PTR. your killing me smalls!

 

[missangelalexis]

Also forgot to say- have SO much fun on your upcoming trip!!!