My poor Em. I thought I knew everyones preferences and fears. I had a pretty good handle on our Mission Space takers (very few) and sent them on their way earlier in the day. I dont know if Emeline didnt really realize she was going hang gliding or the experience was more dramatic than the pictures allowed. Either way, the girl was wrecked after her California adventure. Im glad she had her lemonade fun to comfort and carry her (it thankfully remained with her) back into the Florida sunshine. As she said, she Soared later in the week and didnt hate us (me) too much for taking her aboard.
As we walked off Soarin' and Em regained her composure, my phone wriggled. Mom. My heart jumped, for when I talked to her that morning, Granny was still on the respirator. This couldnt be good.
What? She
WHAT? No way.
Grannys eating chicken broth??? Mom, she cant breathe. How can she eat?
Its a miracle, according to her doctors. They really dont know how she is breathing on her own, for they barely expected it. Shes still receiving plenty of oxygen this particular afternoon, but instead of turning my mothers hand away with a weakened, I cant, she accepts sips of broth and keeps them down!!
Praise God, for He has healed her lungs past this crisis. It looks like, for this minute, this hour, she can breathe on her own.
Me too.
I called my sister The Teacher who was almost across the Florida border with my niece and nephew. They would arrive at Pop Century while we were at dinner that evening. Finally, our party would be complete for Monday touring! We gleefully marveled at Grannys improvement; my sister insisted she fully expected to turn her car around before she made it to Orlando.
Not yet, sister.
Now that our daytime Epcot tour was complete, it was time to head back to the Beach Club for the mandatory rest period. Besides the fact that Cledus and Shrek required a nap every afternoon (Weve got some nappers in here,' said the Cookmaster), Cledus was still nursing a pretty intense earache. Ever since the plane landed, he had been quietly suffering through the pain of a throbbing left ear.
He didnt complain (much) and it never slowed him down. It did, however, seem
slightly uncomfortable when he was horizontal; hence it
might have interrupted a bit of an important component of his vacation: sleep.
I will wait to see if the CookMaster comments on this behind-closed-doors portion of their vacation.
Shrek knows something of ear pain as he is a semi-frequent flyer and also a Q-tip abuser.
Q-tips!! They are both busted!! Excuse this medical aside for one or six sentences. Can you read the box? Forget it. You dont ever read the box. Shrek, you ram those things in your ears and guess what? They clog your ears and you get infections and you cannot hear and your wife has to hear about it and offer advice and then you dont take her advice and go to the doctor (even when you have two very good friends who are ENTS) and you finally go when your wife calls one of the friends from home and then you are healed and then at least you have eardrops that MIGHT heal or lessen your friends pain when you are in Disney World together and his ear hurts and he will not listen to his wife and go to a clinic.
Cledus needed more of Shreks drops (they were all full of how they had healed him as we walked three paces behind and rolled our eyes) so we headed back to Beach Club.
Once again, we moms and always-game-and-napless Dad Crush took the kids to Stormalong Bay while Cledus and Shrek had their beauty sleep. Geez.
I love this night!! Yes, I loved last night too but if you have read any of my drivel you know that I am a Wishes addict! I love Wishes! While we truly appreciated Illuminations on the cruise more than ever before and I have the fondest of memories of that evening with my friends and feeling connected to Granny during the spectacle, Wishes is my quintessential Disney experience.
I have to experience it, once per trip, from the California Grill.
Well, I like it that way.
The first time we ever ate atop the Contemporary was on our 1988 honeymoon! Ah yes, Shrek and I were Disney planners the night he asked me to marry him. As soon as I said Yes and inspected the ring, we looked at each other and said, Honeymoon in Disney World! Back in those days, we big-haired gals dressed up to take in a Broadway style dinner show and we, of course, had front and center seats as I had called the first available ADR date almost 20 years ago. I remember my 1987 calendar holding the dates I could call Disney to make my dining reservations for the places we wanted to eat on our honeymoon. Has it been 20 years???
This year, we timed California Grill for a 7:40 seating with the Gatelatches as Wishes was at 9:00 that evening. It was a repeat of a magical evening with our friends on last years trip, where we had a spectacular view, delicious food, tears over the fireworks show, the worlds best cocktail (CG lemon drop!!) and excellent company. We took taxis to the Contemporary and let the elevator whisk us to the top!
The Coattails, by virtue of their name, made their dining reservations later than this Fixer as they jumped on board in January but were able to get into California Grill earlier the same evening. We didnt get to dine with them, but my sources tell me my little G had his own famous Cali Grill sushi for dessert:
They took advantage of the early seating and went over to MK for the rest of the Extra Magic Hours. We did get to see our Canadian best friends again! They were dining at the best table in the house for their first CG visit ever! I was so happy to see they had a perfect view of the Magic Kingdom. It really does feel like you can reach out and touch the Castle~~or at least Astro Orbiter.
We had a lovely table as well. They are all lovely when you are in The Happiest Place On Earth celebrating life and feeling like you have chased all your troubles away! Once again, I noticed a Disney touch I dont see many other places. Its name is The Round Table For Eight. Most restaurants have long tables for parties of six or more. They simply fit the space better and are easier to fill in and navigate. We noticed almost every restaurant gave us a round option. It helps me wink at the CookMaster when our kids say something funny. I can also bore my eyes into As soul when he talks with a mouth full of gummies. Its the family option and reminds me that Disney wants us to play as a family. Good for Disney!!
Cheese. The older boys, once again, were about the cheese. They pulled this stunt last year at Cali Grill when they saw the fancy cheese menu and decided they would order the cheese plate as an appetizer on the Dining Plan. Who cares? We giggled, thinking they would hate it when they realized it wasnt Kraft American and Mozzarella.
They didnt! They loved it! A and J were all about the cheese plate and ordered it two nights before at Flying Fish. Lapped it up, even, if youll remember the blue cheese penicillin scare. Moving past mold/ concerns, we let them have at it and presented them the menu:
Oh, this was rich. The Flixer. Oh, not The Fixer, The Flixer. Laughs all around. No, Mom, FLIXER, not Fixer. Yes, dear. I get it. Hahahaha. Apparently 12 sheep work their little parts off all year so guests at Disneys CG can salute them and eat their efforts. Well, the boys liked the name, ordered up two samplers and let us try some cheeses.
ICK!!!! The Flixer is NASTY! Those sheep must inbreed or need to get out more. I can still taste it and my mouth is doing that pre-puke saliva thing even as I type this. That was some foul-smelling excuse for expensive (but Dining Plan) cheese.
Explain to me why my son, who was made of peanut butter and jelly until eighteen months ago, will eat that?
Filet. Now THAT I will eat! We ordered filets and fish and our appetizers were consumed (and mercifully removed in the case of the cheese) before we were invited to join the cast of California Grill on one of two Observation Decks for the Magic Kingdoms nightly showing of Wishes, which is always pure magic. This year, as it was so cold and windy, we adults opted to watch from our stellar table view where we could see out the window and enjoy every note of the score and story. Bliss.
That is my idea of what will happen at 9:00 every night in Heaven.
Crème Brulee followed, which might happen every night in Heaven too if we are following a theme.
I wish I may, I wish I might
know that I could enjoy one night
just one night
like this once every six months or so for the rest of my life.
Is that too much to ask??
Lets go get some painkillers (not that he hurt or had mentioned it) into Cledus and get some sleep in the fantabulous Beach Club.
Aerosmith, The Teacher, and a fishing excursion await us on Monday!
She thinks she looks like a little old man
Yep!! The CookMaster, Teacher, and President met her, too! Woo Hooty!!!!
)
I'm glad you are back to posting again. 
I had to catch up today after being THERE all last week and then posting a little on my TR this week. So glad grammy is doing well again. 
Thanks for the update on her and not keeping us hanging about her health!! I'm enjoying your posts and the pics now that I am reconnected! 
but it might have had something to do with the fact that I boarded my broom 
They discount our fears 
so I hope the Fixer doesn't con you into any other mishaps along the way. 
for the southern eat-a-thon tour
