The Disney-fication of our Non-Disney Vacation...an October 2013 TR

[oopsiDAISY]

Glad you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! All your Christmas activities sound so fun!!

Well, I have somewhat of an addiction to fun...probably why I Disney so much!

That would be fun. It does not take much coaxing to get the adult members of the QuackAttack family into costume. (Teenage member is a little harder to convince.)

You and I should at least do hats for afternoon tea. I put together a great hat for a tea party we had for a friend when she retired. We could do small scale versions.

We need to get together after the first of the year and do some scheming and planning!!! I will have my people call your people...

I love your December activities... Ours is pretty much booked solid, with nothing fun, sadly.

I hope you'll share photos with us throughout.

D~

No fun stuff for Christmas! That is just sad! I will be sure to get pictures!

OH HOW MUCH FUN!!!
Honestly! love how everyone just gets together and has a blast!!!
as always your whole family is adorable. LOVE the pinata Gabe picture.. how long was he up there for??

LOVE your Christmas schedule!!! Can't wait to see all the pictures!

Pinata Gabe did NOT stay up there for long before it was hurting him. We all had a good laugh at the little guy's expense, though...

 

[Pixiedust530]

It seems like it's been SOOOOOOO long since I stopped by! I just can't seem to find the time to make it on the DIS. Crazy crazy.

First, your most recent trip update: The day at DTD looks like lots and lots of fun. I could truly just spend hours and hours walking around taking in all the sights and shops. Your Goofy Co. treats look delicious! The pineapple sounds yummy and I will definitely have to give that a try. That huge tutle looks pretty yummy also. Turtles are my FAVORITE!

Second, your Thanksgiving Weekend: Looks like you all had a fabulous time in Alabama! It's so fun to be able to spend relaxing time with family and enjoy each other's company. The pic of Gabe hanging up is too funny! Looks like something my brother (Caden's uncle) would do with him.

Lastly, your Christmas plans: LOVE LOVE LOVE your plan of fun Christmas things to do. We have so much to do, and yet never enough time. I always try to squeeze in holiday shows/movies where I can...and of course the DVR is great for this! I hope you will share the fun pictures of your holiday adventures and activities!

 

[oopsiDAISY]

It seems like it's been SOOOOOOO long since I stopped by! I just can't seem to find the time to make it on the DIS. Crazy crazy.

First, your most recent trip update: The day at DTD looks like lots and lots of fun. I could truly just spend hours and hours walking around taking in all the sights and shops. Your Goofy Co. treats look delicious! The pineapple sounds yummy and I will definitely have to give that a try. That huge tutle looks pretty yummy also. Turtles are my FAVORITE!

Second, your Thanksgiving Weekend: Looks like you all had a fabulous time in Alabama! It's so fun to be able to spend relaxing time with family and enjoy each other's company. The pic of Gabe hanging up is too funny! Looks like something my brother (Caden's uncle) would do with him.

Lastly, your Christmas plans: LOVE LOVE LOVE your plan of fun Christmas things to do. We have so much to do, and yet never enough time. I always try to squeeze in holiday shows/movies where I can...and of course the DVR is great for this! I hope you will share the fun pictures of your holiday adventures and activities!

So great to see you back, Pixie!!! And you are just in time for another update...

 

[oopsiDAISY]

How is that update title for a hint? It was time for DATE NIGHT! Here is the lovely couple headed out for a night on the town:



Where to? Well, we were headed right back to DTD! I had called earlier and gotten reservations for House of Blues. HoB was on our must try list, and it sounded like a great date night place. So off we went for a night of fun!

We got to House of Blues and noticed there would have been no need for a reservation. It was pretty empty. We got seated, and I asked what time the band would be playing. "No band tonight." WHAT?!? I guess I incorrectly assumed that HoB would have someone playing every night. Well, we went ahead and looked the menu over....

And decided that nothing really sounded good to us. What to do now??? We really had no idea what we would do other than just start walking through DTD looking at the menus posted outside to see what sounded good to us. That is exactly what we did, and it didn't take long before we found ourselves inside a restaurant that I had not read about on the Disboards at all. So, can you guess from the update title where that might be? BONGOS!!!

We were seated right away in this gorgeous restaurant. I only took two pictures of my "surroundings", beautiful mosaics:





Tonight was date night, so we were going all out. No dining plan, so our dinner was out of pocket...but this was to be a splurge night for us! I didn't forget my Disfriends on this night...FOOD PORN anyone?

We started out with an appetizer of Ceviche - marinated fish in natural lime juice, red onions, cilantro, and mild jalapeno peppers. This was served with Plantain Chips.



This appetizer was...interesting. Brian really liked it. I thought is was just okay. It was a cold "dip" and the broth (for lack of a better description) was pretty strong on the lime and onion flavors. I REALLY liked the plantain chips, though.

Next was our entree's... I had seen someone else's plate when we were being seated, and immediately told Brian I wanted whatever it was he had on his plate. I successfully found it on the menu.

Churrasco a lo Cubano (Cuban style Skirt Steak) - tenderized skirt steak grilled to perfection and served with fried green plantains, white rice and and black beans.



This was SO GOOD! It did not disappoint...AT. ALL. I don't remember what the sauce was in the cup, I just remember I decided right away that I did not care for it. The rest was TO. DIE. FOR.

Brian had Parrillada de Mariscos (skillet of seafood) - savory skillet of filet of fish, clams, mussels, Jumbo shrimp and two lobster tails with a garlic lime butter and served with yellow rice and fried sweet plantains.



Let me tell you, all these different types of seafood was right up Brian's alley. He was in hog heaven, folks. I tried a little of it, and it was delicious. It was a bit on the spicy side for me, but still very good.

We were stuffed, and got a to go box to take home and share with the kids. But, this was our big splurge night, so we HAD to go for dessert. Since we were so full, we decided to share a smaller, lighter dessert. We went with a piece of Tres Leches cake. This is not listed on the allears menu, but you all are familiar with Tres Leches, right?



It was so delicious, and it just hit the spot. Dinner was a smashing success! After dinner we just wandered around enjoying the night time atmosphere of DTD. It was not very crowded, and the night was gorgeous. Brian got a Star Wars hoodie at one of the stores that has the Japanese poster art from the first movie on the back of it. This was to be his souvenir for the trip. Sorry, but I do not have a picture.

I really only took one other picture of our night. We just strolled around enjoying the scenery, the music (several live performers set up in DTD that night), and just being together. Here is the one photo op I could not resist:



It is a bit blurred, but believe me when I say it was a gorgeous night. It was a perfect vacation date night!

 

[missangelalexis]

Hooray for a fun date night! Glad you were able to try something new and that you enjoyed it (all looked delicious)!

 

[cheekypoppins]

aew you guys r so cute on your datenight I love it!

 

[Chicago Mo]

awwwwwwwwwwwww!!!

SO STINKING CUTE!!!! everything looks amazing!! A-MAZ-ING!!!
YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

 

[FeFeMJ]

What a fun date night! All the food looks delicious!

 

[DMGeurts]

Awww... So sad I almost missed your date night update.

You two are just the most adorable couple ever - I swear!

Bummer that HoB didn't work out - but it sounds like Bongos was a great alternative... Glad you went out and found something you'd like better than HoB.

The food looks amazing!!! Seriously!!! So hungry... Making a hotdish for dinner... Blech!



I'll try to stay on top of your updates better.

D~

 

[Pixiedust530]

Love your date night update. It looks like it was a perfect evening just the 2 of you. Bongos looks like a fun fun place and the food looks delicious. The more and more I read TR's on the DIS the more I add to my list of things to try!

 

[Pluto0809]

I'm caught back up! Your Thanksgiving looked really nice. Mine was pretty quiet with just Jim, Mom and I but we had a nice day. Jim cooked then we went and saw Frozen. Definitely one of my new favorite Disney movies! And Jim even loved it and said he wouldn't mind seeing it again. That one shocked me a bit!

Oh man, all of that stuff from Goofy's Candy Kitchen looked yummy! I had a cupcake there in October. I'm not too sure about the Chocolate covered pineapple. I like pineapple and of course chocolate but I've never been a fan of combining chocolate with fruit.

Your date night looked really nice. That is the first review I have read on Bongo's. I'm glad you guys enjoyed it. I've looked at the menu before and nothing appealed to my picky tastes so I've never considered eating there.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Hooray for a fun date night! Glad you were able to try something new and that you enjoyed it (all looked delicious)!

Bongos was great, and it was just what we wanted for something "different." We like to try new stuff when we are on vacation.

aew you guys r so cute on your datenight I love it!

We are, aren't we? You are making memories of your own right now!!!

awwwwwwwwwwwww!!!

SO STINKING CUTE!!!! everything looks amazing!! A-MAZ-ING!!!
YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Everything WAS amazing. We were very happy with our choice!

What a fun date night! All the food looks delicious!

We love to try new things when we are on vacation, so Bongos was a hit for sure.

Awww... So sad I almost missed your date night update.

You two are just the most adorable couple ever - I swear!

Bummer that HoB didn't work out - but it sounds like Bongos was a great alternative... Glad you went out and found something you'd like better than HoB.

The food looks amazing!!! Seriously!!! So hungry... Making a hotdish for dinner... Blech!



I'll try to stay on top of your updates better.

D~

I will try to do better in sending you a little note when I do updates, D~! I really want to get this TR done soon, because cruise planning is already in FULL swing and I feel the NEED to talk about it on here!!!

Love your date night update. It looks like it was a perfect evening just the 2 of you. Bongos looks like a fun fun place and the food looks delicious. The more and more I read TR's on the DIS the more I add to my list of things to try!

I highly recommend Bongos for sure. We both loved it, and Brian still likes to tell people about it. It was fantastic!

I'm caught back up! Your Thanksgiving looked really nice. Mine was pretty quiet with just Jim, Mom and I but we had a nice day. Jim cooked then we went and saw Frozen. Definitely one of my new favorite Disney movies! And Jim even loved it and said he wouldn't mind seeing it again. That one shocked me a bit!

Oh man, all of that stuff from Goofy's Candy Kitchen looked yummy! I had a cupcake there in October. I'm not too sure about the Chocolate covered pineapple. I like pineapple and of course chocolate but I've never been a fan of combining chocolate with fruit.

Your date night looked really nice. That is the first review I have read on Bongo's. I'm glad you guys enjoyed it. I've looked at the menu before and nothing appealed to my picky tastes so I've never considered eating there.

I have heard such great things about Frozen...but there are so many good movies out right now, that one will probably have to wait until it comes out on DVD. With a family of five, we cannot go to the movies as often as we would like. We are actually splitting up on the weekend of the 20th...Brian, Jillian, and Gabe are going to see The Hobbit with BFF's hubby and son while BFF, Me, and Charity go see Saving Mr. Banks. I CANNOT wait to see Walt come to life!!!!!!

I am a big fan of chocolate covered fruits, so that pineapple was heaven to me. Yeah, no chicken fingers and fries at Bongos. Just teasing you!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Man, I have got to get back in the groove on this TR! I want so badly to get it done so I can start my PTR, but life just keeps getting in the way. Work has been crazy, and then yesterday I was home with Gabe...who has strop throat. I took several pictures of stuff we did over the weekend, but the camera is at home. I feel like my brain is scattered all over the state of Tennessee right now.

I will try to get an update done this afternoon, tomorrow I will post weekend pictures, then I will try to do another update Thursday or Friday... wish me luck with all of this!

 

[DMGeurts]

I hope Gabe is feeling better soon... Poor guy.

Looking forward to hearing the end of this TR - because I am ansiously awaiting all of the juicy cruise details!!

I was wondering what that was the just flew past my window.... It's windy up here in MN and I think it was part of your brain scatterings. ;O)

D~

 

[mickeystoontown]

I didn't even realize that you had this trip report going. So, I spent my lunch hour over a chicken pot pie and your trip report. Gotta say, I enjoyed the report so much more than my pot pie.

Your son reminds me so much of Hunter at his age. From the day Hunter started watching cartoons and movies, he had to have a costume and "props" for every single show or movie.

You guys are doing an awesome job at Disney-fying the trip so far! Looking forward to reading more.

 

[KatMark]

I'm back and trying to catch up.

Sounds like a lovely Thanksgiving weekend and the kids looked like they enjoyed themselves. Men=football. There's no getting past it.

What a nice "date night." Now that you mention it, I've never seen a review of Bongos (Mark and I did peek at the menu in August but there is nothing there I would eat). I'm glad you had such an enjoyable night together.

 

[Pluto0809]

I am a big fan of chocolate covered fruits, so that pineapple was heaven to me. Yeah, no chicken fingers and fries at Bongos. Just teasing you!!!

Yep, no chicken tenders!!!

 

[Chicago Mo]

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Yep, once again life got in the way of my Dis plans yesterday! One of our part time instructors did not show up to give her final exam yesterday. The students waited in the classroom 45 minutes for her to show up. She finally emailed the final to me, and I had to go in and proctor it. Sorry folks, but they do not pay me enough for this!!!

And of course this morning I left my camera at home AGAIN. Had to hurry and scurry to make a casserole for the University Christmas luncheon today, so camera still sits where I left it....no IRL update....but I WILL do a TR update...right



NOW!

 

[oopsiDAISY]

TODAY WAS THE DAY!!!! Today was our park day, and we were more than just a little excited!!! We got up and at 'em...but pictures of the little tourists first:





Where were we heading first? Apparently getting a group shot can be difficult for us...

Five out of seven are ready for this one:



Six out of seven for this one:



That's as good as it gets for THIS shot. What do you always make a bee-line for when you start your day at Epcot? Soarin'? Well, my family decided it would be Test Track. We were all excited to see the changes that had been made. Fast passes were already for a time that would be too late for us, so we decided to wait in the standby line. We took this one on the way in:



While waiting in line there were twin teen-aged boys in front of us wearing t-shirts from Jillian's high school. I asked Jillian if she knew who they were, she said she did. "Well, why don't you say Hi?" "No." Well, I did. I told them we were from the same town, and that Jillian goes to that HS as well. We had a great conversation with the whole family while standing in line. They were staying at our Disney "home" POR. We were able to tell them about the boat to DTD. They had not known about it, and had plans to go to DTD that night. They were very appreciative of the info.

And that, Dis-friends, is the extent of our Test Track experience that day. The ride broke!!! One day in Disney, just one day... and the first ride we tried broke while we were in line. After waiting about half an hour in the same spot, we decided to move on. We just didn't want to waste our day away. We HAD to make the most of it!

After leaving TT we made another executive decision... Mom, Dad, Charity, Gabe and I would go on Living with the Land while Brian took Jillian over to ride Mission Space. MS made Brian pretty darn sick when we were there last year, so he had no intention of riding. Jillian would use the single rider line.

Plan in place, we parted ways. I have not been on Living with the Land in AGES! Just not something Brian and the kids and I would enjoy, but we were there with Grandma and Papa, so things would be different this time. So, folks, Living with the Land was my first Disney ride this trip. Not exactly what I had imagined, but we WERE at Disney...no complaints here! Photos from LWTL:







Not so Hidden Mickey:



And everyone has to get a picture of the Nine Pound Lemon, right?



I tried to get a picture of the farmhouse and chickens, but they just kept blurring.

After exiting LWTL I texted Brian to see where they were. Jillian was still in line, so our group headed over to wait in line at Soarin'. The wait was quite extensive, but it was something we all wanted to do. The plan was for Brian and Jillian to join us in line when they finished at MS.



We spent our time in line chatting, eating life savers, texting Brian, taking pictures:





Brian and Jillian joined us after a while and before long we had this lovely face to behold:



Soarin' was fantastic as always, and I finally started feeling the magic we all love. After leaving Soarin' we were all hungry...and there was only one place to consider...

Coming up: FOOD FEST!!!!!

 

[Pluto0809]

Yeah for your parks day finally! Boooooo though that Test Track was down.

that LWTL ended up being your first ride of the trip. I like LWTL but there are definitely other rides that are better. Great pictures from the ride. I always try to get pictures of "Jim's" chickens in that first part but it's just too dark. Of course I did have my new camera this last trip so maybe I got some? Cliff hanger for my TR!

So glad you made it onto Soarin' even if you had to wait a while. That ride is just so awesome. How were the black spots for you guys?

Can't wait to read all about your F & W experience!