The Darling Family June Beach Club Trip:Hugging Ewoks and Finding Peter Pan

[liznboys]

"It is just too hot for these outdoor recreational activities." That made me laugh.

The Yellow Ranger will forever be a boy in Michael's mind!!

Yes, I really enjoyed tha AC in AIE. No, I enjoyed the show too, it was interesting and kinda exciting (even though the show we went to had very few people in the audience! lol)

MMM, lunch! I've definitely got Disney dining on the brain today...

 

[Stefy]

Kensington eh? V posh address that is I live about 10mins from Kensington High Street.

 

[SunnieRN]

It amazes me how kids can tolerate the heat when it comes to a playground!! Glad you enjoyed AI and too bad about the boys missing Indiana Jones!

 

[dismagiclover]

"It is just too hot for these outdoor recreational activities." That made me laugh.

The Yellow Ranger will forever be a boy in Michael's mind!!

Yes, I really enjoyed tha AC in AIE. No, I enjoyed the show too, it was interesting and kinda exciting (even though the show we went to had very few people in the audience! lol)

MMM, lunch! I've definitely got Disney dining on the brain today...

It was too hot! (You know. You were there). We had a full audience for American Idol. I guess we were there on a busy day. And I know exactly what you mean about Disney Dining on the brain January will be so much fun!

Kensington eh? V posh address that is I live about 10mins from Kensington High Street.

It was a posh place. I can take no credit. The school owned it. It wasn't very private though. My room had 8 sets of bunk beds. That's right. There were 16 of us in one room It was college though and we were in London. The only thing we ever did in the room was sleep! Like I said good times, good times.

It amazes me how kids can tolerate the heat when it comes to a playground!! Glad you enjoyed AI and too bad about the boys missing Indiana Jones!

I know what you mean about the heat. If it was something they didn't like all they did was complain about how hot they were. But when it involved a playground it was if the temperature was just right As you'll see in the next update we tried for Indiana Jones again, but it just wasn't meant to be this trip.

 

[dismagiclover]

Our lunch ADR was somewhere we’d eaten before and everyone requested we return to. We snapped this picture before checking in.

That’s pretty much a give away. We were eating at Sci-Fi Café. I had a heck of a time getting this reservation. I called at my 90+10 and tried to get this for Day 3, but it was full for the day (SWW). I then tried for this day and couldn’t get it either. It was really strange. Sci-Fi is not usually that tough to get. (I got Le Cellier and not Sci Fi? ) Anyway, I was reading on the restaurant board and someone noted reservations for 4 were much easier than 5 to get. That got me thinking . . . We only use seating for 4 because the 3 kids sit in one seat and DH and I sit behind. Thus, I felt fine about reserving a table for 4. So I called back and I still couldn’t get in SWW, but for this day I got my exact requested time. Go figure. Anyway, I checked in early and explained I had 5, but that we wanted seating for 4. The CM didn’t even bat an eye, but she did tell us we would have to wait until our reservation time. She was right. This appeared to be a very popular restaurant. The CM kept explaining to walk ins that they couldn’t get in. I, once again, requested praise from my family for my planning skills. DH rolled his eyes and reminded me he’d already given me plenty of praise.
Anyway we were finally seated. I enjoy this place. It’s cool, dark, and the kids sit in front of us so DH and I can actually have a conversation. What else can you ask for? We had too many TS scheduled so we actually paid this OOP which wasn’t bad because this is relatively cheap for Disney table service. Both DH and I had hamburgers. They were quite tasty and hit the spot. I don’t remember exactly what the kids ordered, but if I had to guess it would be something involving deep fried chicken. They didn’t complain so I guess they liked it. Mostly I think they liked getting dessert with pretty much every meal we ever ate. That doesn’t happen at home.
We finished up lunch and headed back into the steamy park. We had 2 sets of fastpasses in our pockets (remember those TSM fastpasses I obtained amid the craziness of opening and the Star Tours FP the boys picked up.) We figured since we were close we’d send the boys on the Star Tours ride and Wendy and I would go shopping. (Star Tours makes me sick and Wendy had no desire to ride.) We stopped in The Writer’s Stop, a cute little store right next to Sci-Fi. This was a mini coffee shop/book shop and we had fun looking around. I tried to convince Wendy to buy a Mary Poppins hardcover chapter book that looked adorable, but she wasn’t biting. I did end up buying a photo frame and photo book. (Of course. I’m pretty predictable). We sent them back to the resort (love that option.) Here they are

Wendy saw a mug that she thought perfectly described DH. I laughed and told her to bring him back and show him. You’ll see the mug in a bit. Anyway, Wendy wanted to go look in the American Idol store so we headed over that way. On the way I noticed the line for the next Indiana Jones show was open. I knew this was something the boys wanted to see so we hopped in. I asked the CM if the rest of our party could join us later and she said they could. Wendy was not too happy about this. She didn’t want to see the show and she definitely didn’t want to stand in line. I explained for the umpteenth time being in a family sometimes meant we did stuff we didn’t want to do. DH called when the boys finished Star Tours and asked where we were. I told them and they headed over to join us. However, I obviously misunderstood the CM because they boys could not come up and join us in line. I guess the CM meant I could save them a seat once we got into the theater. Anyway, at this point it wasn’t a sure bet that the boys would even make it into the theater, and DH reported nobody really cared if they saw it anyway. So I hung up the phone and made Wendy’s day by telling her we weren’t going to the show. This is our third trip to the World and we still haven’t seen Indiana Jones. Hopefully next time.
We backtracked through the mass of people, found the boys and headed to Pixar Place. It was much calmer than it had been that morning. The fastpass machines were all covered and the line for the attraction was not coming out of the building. We jumped in the fastpass side and were hopping into our cars after about 10 minutes. This was another attraction Wendy was complaining she didn’t want to do. Did she like it? She loved it! Here are our final scores.

Pretty weak, I know. And Wendy is actually the higher score. The boys loved this ride too and everyone was clamoring to go on it again. I just laughed. I had to explain that there was no way that was happening. The line was 2 hours long! It was a fun ride, but not worth that kind of wait. My verdict: Toy Story Mania is a fun ride, but I’m not sure it’s worth all the hype and trouble to actually get on it. Hopefully in a few years it will calm down and it will be a bit easier to actually get on. When it gets like that I’m sure we will ride it again.

It was past 2:00 and it was hot and crowded. We were being reminded by Michael that we hadn’t gone swimming the day before and we had promised we would go swimming every day. I believe the term liar was used in there somewhere. So we decided to head back, but not before we went back to the Writer’s Stop to show DH his mug. DH laughed when he saw it and decided to get it. He also found one right next to it that we both agreed fits me to a tee so now we have matching mugs. Here they are.

Wendy also decided she wanted to buy DH and I matching pens so she used her spending money and bought these for us.

What a sweet little girl! We also picked up some yummy muffins here for breakfast the next morning
.
So it was time to say goodbye to the Studios for this trip. There was lots we didn’t do, but we did all the important stuff and the rest would be waiting for us when we returned next time. (I love that there will always be a next time. Thanks DH if you’re reading this)

Next up: An afternoon at Stormalong Bay and a World Showcase evening.

 

[cjackearl]

Yea for Sci-Fi! We ate there too and I know what you mean about being a hard ressie to get! I had to call multiple times and finally take a less than ideal time, or at least I thought so at the time. It ended up being perfect. Good thinking to make your ADR for a party of 4.

Cute mugs and cute pens. How sweet of Wendy.

I can't believe your pictures are already in your photo fram and photo book!! You're my hero. I need to get on the stick!!

Oh, don't worry about IJ. You really didn't miss much.

 

[Villainess]

Great update! I haven't seen IJ in years. And I agree with TSM - it's ok, but no way would I stand in that line.

 

[letstalkboutdisney]

Love the photo album. I will have to get one of those the next time we go.
How nice of Wendy to use her own money to buy you and your DH a gift!
How did you get back you your resort? Did you walk or take the bus?
Isn't it a wonderful feeling knowing you will go back to Disney so if you don't do everything this time you will do it next time

 

[bballbabe]

That was so sweet of your daughter to spend her own money to buy you and hubby a gift. My kids asre very stingy about spending their own money for anyone except themselves.

Sounds like it was a good lunch that you had at Sci-Fi and that you were able to get your time for eating.

 

[GGOOFY1]

Hi Jenny, another great update. I'm having a great time traveling with your family. Sci Fi is a must for our trips also.

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Sci Fi is so much fun....(we have an ADR there also...)...great atmosphere-people complain about the food-but I think as long as you get something basic-its good...

Love the mug for DH-it's pretty applicable for my DH as well...yours is pretty good also...

I think Wendy sounds lovely-everyone has an occasional moment...and she more than redeemed herself...I think I've used that line about being in a family before myself...

 

[Happy Elf]

Love the mugs! I think your DH fits my DH as well.

How sweet of Wendy to buy you pens!

 

[dismagiclover]

Yea for Sci-Fi! We ate there too and I know what you mean about being a hard ressie to get! I had to call multiple times and finally take a less than ideal time, or at least I thought so at the time. It ended up being perfect. Good thinking to make your ADR for a party of 4.

Cute mugs and cute pens. How sweet of Wendy.

I can't believe your pictures are already in your photo fram and photo book!! You're my hero. I need to get on the stick!!

Oh, don't worry about IJ. You really didn't miss much.

I think something kind of strange was up with Sci Fi reservations this past June I've never heard of it being one of those hard to get reservations, but it sure was. I love photos so getting my pictures printed and into frames was one of the first tasks I did when I got home (after those boring things like laundry and grocery shopping)

Great update! I haven't seen IJ in years. And I agree with TSM - it's ok, but no way would I stand in that line.

I didn't mind missing IJ too much. I'm just a tad worried that they will get rid of it before we ever get to see it.

Love the photo album. I will have to get one of those the next time we go.
How nice of Wendy to use her own money to buy you and your DH a gift!
How did you get back you your resort? Did you walk or take the bus?
Isn't it a wonderful feeling knowing you will go back to Disney so if you don't do everything this time you will do it next time

We took a boat back to the Beach Club. We like walking better (the boats are hot and crowded), but it was too hot in the middle of the day for the walk.

That was so sweet of your daughter to spend her own money to buy you and hubby a gift. My kids asre very stingy about spending their own money for anyone except themselves.

Sounds like it was a good lunch that you had at Sci-Fi and that you were able to get your time for eating.

Wendy is a sweetheart. And she influences the boys too which is nice. Michael actually bought everyone a present later in the trip as well.

Hi Jenny, another great update. I'm having a great time traveling with your family. Sci Fi is a must for our trips also.

Thanks for coming along for the ride! I'm having fun reliving the trip. It's kind of like doing it twice

Sci Fi is so much fun....(we have an ADR there also...)...great atmosphere-people complain about the food-but I think as long as you get something basic-its good...

Love the mug for DH-it's pretty applicable for my DH as well...yours is pretty good also...

I think Wendy sounds lovely-everyone has an occasional moment...and she more than redeemed herself...I think I've used that line about being in a family before myself...

Sci Fi is a fun place. It's just so unique. Definitely not something you can find just down the street in suburbia The mug is funny. Mostly I thought it was funny that Wendy found it and immediately thought of her dad Wendy is lovely. I can't take much credit for her either. I think most of her goodness she just brought with her. Though she does have her moments

Love the mugs! I think your DH fits my DH as well.

How sweet of Wendy to buy you pens!

I think there must be quite a few DH's out there like ours. Why else would they make the mugs?

 

[carissanboys]

Loved hearing all about your time with Liz and gang!

How awesome that Michael and John got picked for the Jedi Training - and they did such a great job. Cool pictures.

Love the Sci Fi even though Chuck and I haven't sat together either time we've eaten there.

 

[Disneyvirg]

I'm glad your family ended up trying Teppan Edo. That place has such an amazing power to make kids happy even though there are no special characters!

I LOVED the pics of the Jedi Training. I just sat at my computer giggling in delight at the expression on your boys' faces. (Thank goodness no one was nearby to watch me act like such a dork!) The comment your husband made was so sweet. I'm sure this little bit of time made the biggest and best memories for your boys.

We may have to try Sci-Fi next time. It looks like fun.

You guys did such a great job of stopping to smell the roses on your trip. Like you said - it probably helps that you know that you'll be going back.

 

[Angies1274]

Great update!! Glad to hear you enjoyed Sci Fi, it sounds like so much fun. I tried to get an ADR at the last minute for last year's trip with no luck. Maybe next time.....

We love TSM!! But I totally agree--it's definitely not worth standing in line for 2hrs just to ride it again. Fastpasses are definitely the way to go until it calms down, which is actually too bad since there are so many cute things to see in the stand-by line--or that's what I've heard.

Love the photo album!! I got one just like it on our trip!!--and what a great daughter you have, to get a gift for you and your DH with her very own money!! Those pens are too cute!!

 

[Stefy]

Great update

We ate at Sci Fi on our first trip and liked it, am really surprised that it was so hard to get a reservation.

I love the photo album, good choice of pics too

So sweet of Wendy to get you those pens and the mugs are brilliant

We still haven't been on TSM, it was just too packed and by the time you get to the FP machine they are all gone. Hopefully next year we will get a chance to go on it, might have to make an early start and then divide and conquer for FP at Rock n Roller Coaster or ToT. I can't remember can you get two FP's at once?

Can't wait to read more

 

[dismagiclover]

Loved hearing all about your time with Liz and gang!

How awesome that Michael and John got picked for the Jedi Training - and they did such a great job. Cool pictures.

Love the Sci Fi even though Chuck and I haven't sat together either time we've eaten there.

We see Liz and gang again on Days 7 & 8. Jedi Training was super awesome! Too bad you and Chuck didn't get to sit together at Sci Fi. That could be one of my favorite things about the place!

I'm glad your family ended up trying Teppan Edo. That place has such an amazing power to make kids happy even though there are no special characters!

I LOVED the pics of the Jedi Training. I just sat at my computer giggling in delight at the expression on your boys' faces. (Thank goodness no one was nearby to watch me act like such a dork!) The comment your husband made was so sweet. I'm sure this little bit of time made the biggest and best memories for your boys.

We may have to try Sci-Fi next time. It looks like fun.

You guys did such a great job of stopping to smell the roses on your trip. Like you said - it probably helps that you know that you'll be going back.

Teppan Edo is definitely somewhere we'll go again And I giggle at the Jedi Training pictures too Those along with the Ewok huuging are my favorite of the trip. I do always try to notice the details of my trips. That is really what makes them special and it does help to know there will always be a next time

Great update!! Glad to hear you enjoyed Sci Fi, it sounds like so much fun. I tried to get an ADR at the last minute for last year's trip with no luck. Maybe next time.....

We love TSM!! But I totally agree--it's definitely not worth standing in line for 2hrs just to ride it again. Fastpasses are definitely the way to go until it calms down, which is actually too bad since there are so many cute things to see in the stand-by line--or that's what I've heard.

Love the photo album!! I got one just like it on our trip!!--and what a great daughter you have, to get a gift for you and your DH with her very own money!! Those pens are too cute!!

Sci Fi is a fun place. I think because it is so unique. I sure do hope TSM calms down in the next year or two. It is crazy over there for getting the same photo album. You have good taste

Great update

We ate at Sci Fi on our first trip and liked it, am really surprised that it was so hard to get a reservation.

I love the photo album, good choice of pics too

So sweet of Wendy to get you those pens and the mugs are brilliant

We still haven't been on TSM, it was just too packed and by the time you get to the FP machine they are all gone. Hopefully next year we will get a chance to go on it, might have to make an early start and then divide and conquer for FP at Rock n Roller Coaster or ToT. I can't remember can you get two FP's at once?

Can't wait to read more

I don't know what was up with Sci Fi reservations. It's never been that difficult to get into It definitely is a challenge to get on TSM. You can't get two FP at the same time. You have to wait at least 2 hours. But I bet that TOT and Rock 'n Roller Coaster are not as busy at open these days. Everyone is in Pixar Place

 

[dismagiclover]

This update is really short on pictues. Sorry.

We hopped on the boat and had a hot and crowded ride back to the Beach Club. We all preferred walking, but not in the heat of the day. As soon as we arrived in our room everyone changed into their swim suits and we were headed out to our beloved SAB. We’d only skipped one day, but the boys acted like we’d been away forever. They were very concerned about what color wristbands we’d missed. (They have different colors everyday). Luckily, the color we missed was something boring like yellow so they weren’t too upset about that. (Now if it had been red or blue I’d never heard the end of it.) We spent another great afternoon playing in the pool. We were there for several hours so we decided some Mickey ice cream was a necessity. We stepped right out of the pool and walked about 10 steps to Hurricane Hannah’s. The boys had been hankering to play some ping pong ever since we saw the table out by the boardwalk. So we headed over there to eat the ice cream. There was an eating table by the tennis table so after we all ate, I just sat and watched everyone else attempt to play ping pong. My kids don’t have much experience and were really not too good. Wendy lost interest pretty quick and asked to go on the slide (the entrance was right next to us and we could see the line from where we were sitting.) I sent her on her merry way. The man at the table next to ours noticed how pathetically my boys played ping pong and offered to play a bit with DH so the boys could see what they were supposed to do. The boys finally got the point and the 2 boys and the 2 men spent some time playing. I wouldn’t say they ever got good, but at least they figured out the goal was not to slam the ball over your opponent’s head. Anyway after the fun ping pong game for the boys and several times down the slide for Wendy, I suggested we go back to the room and get out of the sun. The boys thought that was a fabulous idea because they wanted to play with their Pokeman cards they bought the previous night. Wendy wanted to head back into the pool for a bit. So we left DH and Wendy at the pool and headed back to the room.
The boys had a grand time playing Pokeman and I took a much appreciated rest. Shortly DH and Wendy returned and we had to decide what to do for dinner. There was the Beach Club Marketplace, Hurricane Hannah’s, Beaches n’ Cream (OOP), trying to find something on the Boardwalk, or heading over to Epcot and picking up counter service somewhere in the World Showcase. So many choices. I’m going to say it again. I just love the Beach Club! The call of World Showcase won and we headed towards Epcot. We took the “shortcut” down by the water and I snapped these pictures (the only ones of this update. Sorry)

After our five minute walk to Epcot, the question was where to eat. We’d never eaten counter service in the World Showcase. However, I’d read many a dining report and the most recommended place was Tangierine Café. So that is where we headed. (We did stop and pick up a Kim Possible Fastpass on our way.) The kids wanted to know where we were eating and I told them “Morocco.” Wendy’s reply, “Borocco? What is that?” I guess she doesn’t get too much geography in 3rd grade and had never heard of Morocco. And of course she knows the name Barack (as in Obama). I tried to explain to her it was Morocco with an M, but she insisted on calling it Borocco! Crazy girl! While Wendy and I were getting the food, DH and the boys found us a table. By the time I made it to the table with the food, Michael was taking a serious snooze on the bench. He was just plain tuckered out. We let him sleep through most of dinner. Anyway, the kids menu at Tangierine Café is essentially American. So DH and I had some delicious relatively authentic food (love the lamb). The kids, on the other hand, had their normal diet of deep fried chicken. They then all proclaimed to love food from “Borocco”. (That joke never got old for Wendy.)

After dinner we headed over to France to complete another Kim Possible Mission. It was Michael’s turn to hold the Kimmunicator. He held it in the stroller and the other two kids gathered around and listened. And this worked perfectly. I wish we would have figured it out sooner. Plus, it wasn’t ten zillion degrees outside. I actually really enjoyed the mission this time. I just visited Paris (the real one) in March and so it was fun to notice the little details around France (the Disney one) and remember the real thing. For instance there are carts full of used books and postcards lining the Seine in the real Paris. In Disney Paris they have replicas of those carts right by the lagoon. I just love the little details like that. Kim Possible gave us a chance to notice them.

Anyway, during the mission the sky began to look very threatening. John was talking about that Nemo Webkinz again, but I was just hoping to finish the mission before the skies opened up and luckily we did. As soon as we deposited the Kimmunicator we headed back to our room (putting off Nemo yet again). Once again I was very glad for the Beach Club location. We made it to our room, but within 5 minutes the rain came and it came hard. Luckily we were in for the night, though Wendy had been hoping to watch another Movie on the Beach. She was bummed it was moved to the Solarium. Wendy and DH went down to check it out, but said it was too crowded and came back. Instead we all curled up in bed looking forward to yet another Disney Day.

Up next: Magic Kingdom rope drop style.

 

[Stefy]

Great update, must be so cool to be able to walk 5mins to Epcot (I love the WS and it is one of my fav parks to visit on the second day, MK is first).

I so want to try Kim Possible mission when we go, how long does it usually last for?

Thanx for the info about FP's forgot whether you could get more than one at a time. I'll bet RnR and ToT is quiet what with the crazy crowd at TSM. Wonder if you ever get surprise FP's for TSM (we got one last year for PhilharMagic).