Team Renfroe trip report with TONS of pics & reviews

[seacrestpromo]

Keep it coming!!

 

[alan_renfroe]

Of all the restaurants in the World, the California Grill was the one we were most excited about....and I'm happy to report that it did not disappoint! It was wonderful! I apologize for some of these pictures, but future pics are much better.

We didn't think about taking photos until we had already started eating, but here is my appetizer: the California roll

DW had the Medusa roll, which she LOVED!

DS11, (who is considered to be an adult on the dining plan...and rightly so in our case...this kid can EAT!), had the Chilled Maine Lobster first course. Here's what's left of it:

Here is our bread basket and DD's Caesar Salad:

DS had the Seared Jumbo Day Scallops with Farro Risotto. He ate EVERY BITE!

DW had the Oak-fired filet of beef. She said it was the best steak she has ever had, hands down.

I had the Yoshi's Deluxe Sushi Sampler. OMG!!

DD had the cheese pizza:

Next up....dessert!!

 

[alan_renfroe]

Great pics! It's so great to hear that your kids love the camera. That way your family will have plenty of pictures for the years to come

Our daughter fathoms herself as a "Diva"! She's a total drama queen!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Ok seat belt is buckled, bib is on, let the drooling begin!

 

[alan_renfroe]

DW had the Apple & Almond Bread Pudding. For such a wonderful meal, she didn't care for it.

I had the Banana Butterscotch Buzz. Now let me be the first to tell you...I am NOT a dessert eater regularly. But ohhhhh....this was the BEST dessert of the trip...the best dessert I have ever had ANYWHERE. Awesome!

DS had the Valrhona Chocolate Cake. (Again, I think he ate every bite.)

and DD was thrilled with her candy sushi:

Overall, I would rate the California Grill a 10. My wife rates it a 9, but only because she ordered the wrong dessert.

(Again, I apologize for the blurriness of these pictures. All future pictures are much better.)

 

[alan_renfroe]

I'm signing on for this one!!!

Welcome aboard!

 

[alan_renfroe]

Ok seat belt is buckled, bib is on, let the drooling begin!

Welcome aboard! We owe our Boma breakfast reservation to you and your TR! Thanks!

 

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

Im in! CG looks great! Can't wait to see the rest!

 

[englishrose47]

Subbing ! Loved the pix! I also love Cracker Barrel! Did you eat at Pepper Market at CSR? Iloved it there!!

 

[alan_renfroe]

Im in! CG looks great! Can't wait to see the rest!

Welcome, Blessed with Triplets!

 

[alan_renfroe]

Subbing ! Loved the pix! I also love Cracker Barrel! Did you eat at Pepper Market at CSR? Iloved it there!!

We did eat at the Pepper Market. It was convenient, so we ended up eating there a couple of times...once for lunch, once for breakfast.

 

[alan_renfroe]

Thanks for the gravy shot...it made my day!

It's hard to get between a Southern man and his gravy!!

 

[alan_renfroe]

As we finished our meal at California Grill, we went out on the balcony to watch Wishes over the Magic Kingdom. It was incredible...with the slight exception of the obnoxious people beside us who insisted on talking loudly throughout Jiminy Cricket's spiel.

I tried to get some decent shots of the fireworks show, but to no avail.

While we were at the Contemporary before dinner, we went into one of the stores on the 2nd floor, and our children insisted on having a Pal Mickey. They had saved up their own money to buy one, so we let them.

Since we watched the entire Wishes show, we were afraid we'd be stuck in all of the Magic Kingdom traffic trying to get a bus back to Coronado Springs, but instead we had a brilliant idea. We took the monorail from the Contemporary to the TTC, then took the monorail to Epcot. Since Epcot closed at 9pm, there was almost no one going from the TTC to Epcot. We knew that buses run to each park up to 2 hours after park closing, so we decided to try it. What luck! Since there was practically no one on the monorail to Epcot, we got to sit up front with the driver! The driver gave our children honorary navagator's licenses, and we got to see a little bit of Epcot for the first time. When we got off the monorail, we hopped on a bus and were back to the Coronado by 10:45pm.

DD8 has an "ugly" doll named MOXY. That night, we had to introduce MOXY to her new best friend, Pal Mickey.

Overall, we had a wonderful first day...traveling, checking in, swimming, eating at California Grill, and soaking up the atmosphere at WDW. Tomorrow, we tackle the Magic Kingdom, Liberty Tree Tavern, Cinderella's Royal Table for the girls, and Tony's Town Square for the guys.

Stay tuned...

 

[alan_renfroe]

We had read three different books about Disney vacation planning, including the Unofficial Guide, and decided that we would try to follow the advice of being at the parks early. I promised my wife to not be a "Disney Nazi" dragging everyone from ride to ride, but having a plan for the first couple of hours in the park made sense to me. It really worked out great!

We had a 6:30am wake up call, and we were at the bus stop by 8:10am.

We arrived about 8:50am, just before the opening ceremonies. DD8 enjoyed watching the characters as they got off the train!

 

[alan_renfroe]

We were ready for rope drop! The girls decided to check out the Main Street Bakery to get a snack for breakfast (huge, yummy cinnamon roll to share, according to DD), while DS11 and I were headed straight to Space Mountain! Bear in mind that prior to this trip, DS11 had never been a real thrill ride person, but he had promised he was riding EVERYTHING at Disney. SO, we made a bet. If he rode EVERYTHING, I would give him an extra $10 for souvenirs on the last day. But if he chickened out on anything, he would have to go watch Playhouse Disney!! (Worse torture I could think of for an 11-year-old boy!) I figured riding Space Mountain first was going to tell us all we needed to know.

DS11 AFTER riding Space Mountain. We both LOVED IT!

 

[steery1]

Great report! Thanks

What building did you stay in at CSR? How did you like it?

 

[Luis Rodriguez]

Alan (er, Clark?)

Wonderful!! Nice kids!!

(From Luis, who is planning his Sept. '08 trip, with DW, DD (5) and D-Nephew(12). BTW, my DD is, also, a "Drama Queen" (I'm pretty sure she must have been a sopa opera star in a former life ).

 

[disneyhockeymad]

Ooh I'm in, your pictures are fantastic and your daughter has the best smile ever!
Glad you loved the California Grill, I've heard some glowing reports about that place!
Great 'bribe' with your DS, looks like he's going to get that $10 as well! Yay for him riding, and loving Space Mountain!
Can't wait for the next installment!

 

[Buzz2001]

Great report! Thanks for sharing!!

 

[1lear]

I'm loving your report. We are staying at CSR in August. Can't wait to read more-you must have always had a camera out!

Lisa