Team Renfroe - Pre-Trip Report for May 15-22, 2009 **Final Chapter**

[LuccaDrake]

I'm loving the mini TR. Just one question though, how come your family always looks so happy?!?! You guys must be some cool parents! Glad to see you guys are having such a fun-filled summer. I also find it funny that you are taking pics of food even at non-Disney places. I love it! I'm still worried about taking food pics on our upcoming trip. I figure after the first couple I won't feel so weird about it.

~Beka~

 

[jjk]

Alan, your mini report and photos are great those nachos were huge !!
I am soo Jealous I wanna go to the beach

 

[englishrose47]

Good Morning Team Renfroe!! Internet down so may be MIA for a while !!

 

[alan_renfroe]

Great updates!
I too am (not so) patiently awaiting the news about next year's dining and prices.
Oh, and as an aside I LOVE Jimmy! Aaron and I were members of the Southern Maryland Parrot Head Club before we moved to Charleston.

How cool! Yep, big Parrot Head here!

I checked the Disney web site today, since I haven't been on there in a while. There are some changes, but still no info about 2009.

Oooo those fried dill pickles look delicious!

I have a friend who is also a huge Jimmy Buffet fan and she had her entire backyard themed after the Margaritaville restaurant after they went to the one at Universal's Citywalk! Included are those chairs you took pictures of earlier! (Naturally not bought from the restaurant, she did them herself, but you get the idea! ) There's references to his songs and other signs and such all over their cabana/outdoor bar! Seems you Buffet fans are everywhere!

The nachos made me actually gasp! What a portion!

I can tell by your family's smiles how much fun you had, can't wait for more and this dinner you made everybody!

I want to be friends with your friends! I've been a huge fan since I was in college and having a Buffett-themed back yard sounds like something I would do!

I swear, even the picture of those nachos cannot describe how BIG they were! Did you see the before & after? I am a BIG eater, and I barely put a dent in the thing!

Okay Alan, the "even smelled funny" did me in. I retreat. I have to find another place to eat dinner that night. There are two shows that night and I will go to the later show, no problem, no worries. Thanks Cammie for the suggestions!

You guys look like you are having a ball. We love Panama area. Margaritaville is very cool. Last time I was there I "blew out my flip flop." You guessed it, "I stepped on a pot top" (I'm also a Jimmy fan ).

You know, it is sort of an awesome responsibility giving negative reviews like that....but the more I think about it, I hope I am doing you a favor by keeping you from eating there! I sure wish someone would've warned us!

Cammie's suggestion was perfect - I think you'll be very happy with that plan.

Awesome...more Parrot Heads! Seems we've got fins to the left and fins to the right!

Yes it is South Alabama! It is about an hour from Mobile, So I must have the wrong Jack!! I am leaning more to May myself now, after looking at the crowd blog on UG .It is definately better than March. Plus it will be good practise for September with the whole gang!!I am off course checking the restaurants I want to eat and have decided I needto stay a month to go to allof them

Here in North Alabama, we refer to South Alabama as L.A. (Lower Alabama!)

I think you would like May a lot. The weather is a bit unpredictable, but when is it not? It is before hurricane season, before the summer crowds, and after the spring breakers. The only negative for us is that we have to take our kids out of school for a week. However, that is not such a big deal since all of the standardized testing is finished by that time. I feel like we hit it at just the right time!

Woohoo you are going to the world in May with us and with Alan's family!! And of course thousands of others! I am excited about my birthday trip!

We can all do the happy dance together in May!

I'm loving the mini TR. Just one question though, how come your family always looks so happy?!?! You guys must be some cool parents! Glad to see you guys are having such a fun-filled summer. I also find it funny that you are taking pics of food even at non-Disney places. I love it! I'm still worried about taking food pics on our upcoming trip. I figure after the first couple I won't feel so weird about it.

~Beka~

Hi Beka! We always look happy because you only see the vacation pictures!! Wish it could be like that everyday, don't you? As far as being cool parents, DS might disagree with you at the moment. (He got in a little trouble with his father (me) this weekend.) All is well now, though.

Oh, go ahead and take the pictures! Don't sweat it! You'll be glad you did, I promise! Even on this mini-trip report, I'm glad I took pictures of our awesome meals, which was a big part of what made our trip fun. Don't worry too much about what others think!

Alan, your mini report and photos are great those nachos were huge !!
I am soo Jealous I wanna go to the beach

I always love being at the beach! The only thing I didn't get to do on this trip was to have some gumbo! I love gumbo, and I didn't get my fix on this trip!

Good Morning Team Renfroe!! Internet down so may be MIA for a while !!

What did we EVER do before the Internet??

 

[Cinderelly5507]

I've been lurking on your PTR and read your TR as well! You have a beautiful family and I loved reading all your restaurant reviews!! Here's to happy planning!

 

[alan_renfroe]

I've been lurking on your PTR and read your TR as well! You have a beautiful family and I loved reading all your restaurant reviews!! Here's to happy planning!

Thanks for the wonderful compliments, Cinderelly5507! I'm glad you stopped by to say hello!

 

[alan_renfroe]

On Wednesday morning, DW & I decided to go buy groceries so that we could provide the evening meal for everyone. I am an experienced shrimp boiler, so we decided to do fresh boiled shrimp, corn on the cob, new potatoes, french bread and garlic butter.

We made a trip into town and found a great seafood market with fresh gulf shrimp. We bought 12 pounds of shrimp that were caught in the bay the night before! They still had their heads on!

Anyway, after getting back to the condo, we had lunch then took the kids swimming in the pool. (The beach was really rough for the rest of the trip - lots of rip tides and red flags.)

After swimming in the pool for a couple of hours, we came back up to the room. About 3pm, all of the guys, (DS included) went to the Bass Pro Shop. The ladies (including DD) went shopping at the outlet stores. I was the only one to stay behind....so that I could cook for everyone! Now this may seem like a bad deal, but it was one of the most fun times I had in Destin! I love to do a big shrimp boil! I cooked all 12 pounds of shrimp, 36 ears of corn, 8 pounds of new potatoes, and made my own famous homemade cocktail sauce!

Here are the results:

The entire family seemed to enjoy the meal and I got some major kudos for cooking! (Score one for me with the in-laws!) DW made her garlic butter, and with a few loaves of french bread the meal was complete.

Next installment - last full day in Florida & dinner at McGuire's Irish Pub.

 

[alan_renfroe]

We slept in a little later on our last full day in Destin!

My two brother-in-laws invited me to go play golf with them. I am a TERRIBLE golfer, but I was flattered to be asked...so I went. I can honestly say that this will be the LAST time I ever attempt to play golf! I'm horrible at it, for one, the heat was unbearable, and it puts a tremendous strain on my back. (Okay, I'm through complaining now!) Anyway, it was a great experience to spend some time with the DBILs, but I don't think I'll be playing golf again!

After getting back to the room in the afternoon, the heat had zapped me of all my energy. I took a shower and a long, much needed nap.

After napping, it was time to get ready for dinner.

The family all got together for some family photos before dinner:

Finally, it was time for dinner. A good friend had recommended McGuire's Irish Pub to us. I looked up their menu online before our trip and it looked great! We thought we would give it a try.

This place was GREAT!! It is what I imagine Raglan Road at Disney would be like. They brewed their own draft beers and even had their own root beer! DD loved the root beer so much, she had two mugs of it! DW liked the root beer so much, she decided to drink it instead of regular beer. I had a couple of mugs of the Irish Red.

One of the unique items on their menu is called the "Senate Bean Soup." It is a bean and ham soup that was made popular on Capitol Hill in D.C., and it was once sold for $.18 a bowl! Well....McGuires STILL sells this soup for $.18 a bowl! Great appetizer!

DS wanted the calamari:

The bread was outstanding!! The butter was awesome also.

For dinner, I had the Prime Rib, their specialty. I can honestly say that it was as good as the best prime rib I have ever had. I had the best prime rib ever at Kona Cafe at Disney World. This was AS GOOD!! It would just melt in your mouth!

DW had a chicken penne pasta dish. She LOVED it, but it was so big she ended up taking at least half of it back to the room:

The kids had their usual fare of chicken fingers:

After dinner, we went back to the room and packed up. We took one last picture of the kids.

We got up early on Friday and were on the road home by 8:30am. We had a very nice time at the beach.....but now we are ready to get back to our Disney planning for next spring!

Thanks for allowing us to share - now we return you to the Disney Pre-Trip Report as scheduled!

Alan

 

[Bibbidi]

Thanks for the mini trip report. It was fun following along on another Griswold vacation before the next big disney trip. It was funny that your family would go to a Margaritaville because we just found out we're doing a family trip in Myrtle Beach next summer and just this morning I saw that there is a Margaritaville there--it looked fun, but I wasn't sure--then I read your report, so we'll have to try it.

 

[alan_renfroe]

Thanks for the mini trip report. It was fun following along on another Griswold vacation before the next big disney trip. It was funny that your family would go to a Margaritaville because we just found out we're doing a family trip in Myrtle Beach next summer and just this morning I saw that there is a Margaritaville there--it looked fun, but I wasn't sure--then I read your report, so we'll have to try it.

Bibbidi,

I hope you will LOVE Myrtle Beach as much as we did last year! We had a blast! Margaritaville is at Broadway at the Beach, which is a huge outdoor mall area with lots of shops, restaurants, bars, etc. They have an incredible aquarium there also....the best one I've ever been to!

Here is a picture of me from last summer at Margaritaville.

Last summer was our first trip ever to Myrtle Beach, SC and we had a blast! Our vacation was for 5 nights, and that was wayyy too short. I would love to go back sometime....but for now, we would rather be at Disney!

 

[jjk]

Alan, your cooking skills are impressive the meal you cooked looked delicous

 

[Camster0307]

You know, it is sort of an awesome responsibility giving negative reviews like that....but the more I think about it, I hope I am doing you a favor by keeping you from eating there! I sure wish someone would've warned us!

You are doing a MAJOR public service, Alan! Maybe if enough people stop going to H&V, Disney will be forced to make some changes!

The dinner you cooked looked great! 12 POUNDS OF SHRIMP? With the heads on? So, let me ask because I never buy shrimp this way, but did you have to chop off the heads?

That dinner at the Irish pub looked awesome also. I don't think I've come across many Irish pubs that I HAVEN'T liked!

Looking forward to moving on to the Disney planning!

 

[dddisrunner]

Hi Alan! Just got caught up on the pre-trippie, and it is GREAT!! Those beach/vacation pictures were great. I am glad you had such a nice time! I have a funny story to share... I live at the Jersey Shore and today I was at the beach w/my DSis and my niece and nephew....WELL there was this little girl there about 2 years old and I kept saying to my sis "I know that little girl" So my sis says "from where?" I couldn't figure out from where and it BUGGED me ALL DAY! Finally, as we were leaving it hit me... I said to my sis, I figured out where I know that little girl from, I said she looks JUST LIKE Alan Renfroe's daughter! To which my sis says "Who the heck is Alan Renfroe?" I said oh, never mind just a family I know from Disney Just thought I would let you know that your DD had a mini me here on the Jersey shore today!

 

[alan_renfroe]

Alan, your cooking skills are impressive the meal you cooked looked delicous

Thanks, Rachel! I'm not really a cook, but I'm great at the grill and at boiling water!

You are doing a MAJOR public service, Alan! Maybe if enough people stop going to H&V, Disney will be forced to make some changes!

The dinner you cooked looked great! 12 POUNDS OF SHRIMP? With the heads on? So, let me ask because I never buy shrimp this way, but did you have to chop off the heads?

That dinner at the Irish pub looked awesome also. I don't think I've come across many Irish pubs that I HAVEN'T liked!

Looking forward to moving on to the Disney planning!

Hi Cammie! Yes, that's true - If a majority of bad reviews prevent H & V from keeping crowds, it may spawn some action to be taken. Fingers crossed!

Yep, 12 pounds of those bad boys. Heads on and all....straight off the boat! I did NOT chop off the heads...that would part of the peeling process for the ultimate consumer!! Like Crawdads, the heads are basically waste, but leaving them on can help flavor the entire thing. Plus, it's just plain fun to pull those suckers off!!

So true about the Irish Pubs! Show me to an Irish Pub and I'm a happy guy. (My last name, Renfroe, is Irish.)

Okay, now I'm ready to get back to Disney planning!

Hi Alan! Just got caught up on the pre-trippie, and it is GREAT!! Those beach/vacation pictures were great. I am glad you had such a nice time! I have a funny story to share... I live at the Jersey Shore and today I was at the beach w/my DSis and my niece and nephew....WELL there was this little girl there about 2 years old and I kept saying to my sis "I know that little girl" So my sis says "from where?" I couldn't figure out from where and it BUGGED me ALL DAY! Finally, as we were leaving it hit me... I said to my sis, I figured out where I know that little girl from, I said she looks JUST LIKE Alan Renfroe's daughter! To which my sis says "Who the heck is Alan Renfroe?" I said oh, never mind just a family I know from Disney Just thought I would let you know that your DD had a mini me here on the Jersey shore today!

That is TOO FUNNY!!! Wow....who the heck IS Alan Renfroe?

I'll have to let DD know about her "mini-me." Thanks for sharing!

 

[alan_renfroe]

Here's a question - if any of you know the answer, please chime in....

If you purchase a package that includes the basic dining plan, could you later upgrade to the Deluxe Dining Plan? I would think that would be possible, but how difficult would it be to do?

I will not know my final budget for our Disney trip until I get my Fed. Income Taxes filled out in early February. (We use our rebate check every year to go on vacation.) Anyway, I'll probably book our trip before I know our budget. I'm thinking about being conservative and just booking the basic dining plan....but then again, I want to see what the NEW dining plan has in store.

Feel free to chime in on the subject.

 

[bizneydizney]

Sorry, I don't know anything about upgrading dining plans.

It's 11 pm, I'm pregnant, and very hungry. I might need to get nachos right now.

We got the same van this May, slightly different color. We just got back from a trip to NJ. We really enjoyed having the van. We leave for WDW in two weeks DRIVING from MICHIGAN. Not looking forward to the drive, can't wait for the trip, happy we have the van.

 

[bizneydizney]

Forgot to say how much I'm enjoying the PTR! I was stuck on the nachos, forgot the pleasantries.

 

[Figment's Friend]

Here's a question - if any of you know the answer, please chime in....

If you purchase a package that includes the basic dining plan, could you later upgrade to the Deluxe Dining Plan? I would think that would be possible, but how difficult would it be to do?

I will not know my final budget for our Disney trip until I get my Fed. Income Taxes filled out in early February. (We use our rebate check every year to go on vacation.) Anyway, I'll probably book our trip before I know our budget. I'm thinking about being conservative and just booking the basic dining plan....but then again, I want to see what the NEW dining plan has in store.

Feel free to chime in on the subject.

Hey, Alan! First off, I just wanted to answer your question. Yes, you sure can purchase the basic Dining Plan and then later upgrade! We were going to go Deluxe this year but it wasn't quite in the budget so we stuck to the basic However, if you go Deluxe and then downgrade back to basic, there is some kind of fee involved, but the option is there as well.

Your last few days in Florida sounded so nice. Glad your dinner was such a success, it looked great! Although I'm not going to lie, the eyes on those shrimp DID scare me a little Everything looked wonderful and it's certainly good you scored some points with the in-laws! Can't wait for more updates from you!

 

[TCKK]

I finally got caught up on your report. So glad to be traveling with you guys again. The trip to Panama City Beach and Destin looked like so much fun. I've been to Panama City Beach once a few years ago for a training conference for work. I love the beach there. I've never been to Destin but I have co-workers who love it there. I must say the prime rib looked awesome in your pictures. That has to be one of my favorite things to eat.

We leave in 5 days for POP Century at WDW!!! Can't wait. Check out my Trip Report when we get back if you want to see more pictures from there. We'll be there for 10 nights, so I imagine I'll have lots of pics to post.

Looking forward to reading more of your PTR

Cathy

 

[Camster0307]

We leave in 5 days for POP Century at WDW!!! Can't wait. Check out my Trip Report when we get back if you want to see more pictures from there. We'll be there for 10 nights, so I imagine I'll have lots of pics to post.

Looking forward to reading more of your PTR

Cathy

Lucky ducks! I'll be looking for your TR also! Have a GREAT trip!