The Mostly Very Merry Holiday/Bday Grand Gathering Update 4/6 Calf Grill

[janloz]

What a Great Report! And your dining reviews were wonderful too!

Thanks for reading and the compliment.

 

[janloz]

Chapter 20: Birthday Afternoon in HS: I forgot to add these pics from outside Star Tours

After TSM it was time for lunch, we had ADR at Sci-Fi but they were running late and couldn't guarantee us that we would be done in time for the Lights, Motor, Action show so we decided to go to ABC Commissary instead. BIG mistake.

They have a very limited menu so our choices were between salad, burgers or curry chicken or fried fish. The dessert choices were chocolate mousse or strawberry shortcake.
DH & DS got the burger with fries which they said were fair at best.
DD got the chicken nuggets which were the worst of the entire trip, they were overcooked and dry. She barely ate anything except a few fries.
I got the Asian Salad. I asked if I could get the dressing on the side but was told that they are all premade so no. This was also the worst meal I had during the trip. The dressing was so strong and overpowering, I literally only ate about 5 bites until I couldn't take it anymore. The desserts weren't much better, the mousse was ok but if it didn't come with the dining plan I certainly would not spend $3.59 on it. The strawberry shortcake tasted artificial and no one ate more then one spoonful.

Total was $44.66 but was 4 Dining credits. Not worth even 1 credit IMHO. If you are in HS and hungry, walk past ABC Commissary and find something better. I wish there were other better choices but we really wanted to get to Lights, motors, Action! Stunt show so we didn't have time to walk around the park looking for something. We headed over to LMAS show since they only had a 1pm or 4pm show our day and waited in the holding area. We were allowed to go with Granny to the scooter seating area and had 2nd row seating on the left side.
This was the one thing that Mark really wanted to see that day so we were really glad to have good seats. One side note, it was a lot cooler in the stadium then anywhere else in the park especially since the seats were in the shade. Sarah was so cold that she had on her sweatshirt and Dave's coat around her legs. This was a great show and here are the pics:

After the show, despite the complaints from the kids, we went to The Great Movie Ride. Here is Dave waiting in line:

 

[mybabesuz]

Too bad about ABC... Backlot Express and Pizza Planet are a little better but not much...
HS really needs to improve their CS options.
LCA was closed when we were there. Hoping to see it next time...

 

[Happy Elf]

Sorry you had such a bad experience at ABC. The kids look cute on the speeder bikes!

 

[janloz]

Too bad about ABC... Backlot Express and Pizza Planet are a little better but not much...
HS really needs to improve their CS options.
LCA was closed when we were there. Hoping to see it next time...

Sorry you had such a bad experience at ABC. The kids look cute on the speeder bikes!

Thanks, we made up for it with snacks later in the day. Got to love the Mickey shaped ice cream.

The CS in HS didn't seem too appealing, we should have just snacked our way through to dinner.

 

[CanadianWDWfan]

Work does come first. I'm glad to have an update, cute pics.

I'm happy to hear that the surprize worked and he was shocked.

Great b-day tee!

I have tossed around the idea of bkfst at Cape May, sounds like a good meal. I never thought about taking a boat to HS after. I want to see that resort so badly, it looks so beautiful.

Too bad your lunch was a bust. We really liked Sci-Fi last time. My kids want to add it again this time. That's the one problem with ADR's so ahead of time, plans can change or it can conflict with shows and mess things up.

 

[janloz]

Work does come first. I'm glad to have an update, cute pics.

I'm happy to hear that the surprize worked and he was shocked.

Great b-day tee!

I have tossed around the idea of bkfst at Cape May, sounds like a good meal. I never thought about taking a boat to HS after. I want to see that resort so badly, it looks so beautiful.

Too bad your lunch was a bust. We really liked Sci-Fi last time. My kids want to add it again this time. That's the one problem with ADR's so ahead of time, plans can change or it can conflict with shows and mess things up.

Cape May was a good way to start the day, as you can tell, we are breakfast people. and the resort is so pretty. By eating at many of the resort TS, we were able to see the holiday decorations and check out the resorts. Of course now the kids want to stay deluxe, maybe with 40% off code. You can take the boats to/from Epcot as well. It was really neat and peaceful to take them, much like the boat at Port Orleans to DTD.

One drawback of the Deluxe dining was the feeling that some days we were running from meal to meal, especially at the beginning of the trip since you want to "get your monies worth". We decided that next time we will book a breakfast, get snacks for lunch or share something larger then plan later dinner ADR so we have more time in the parks. It seemed that after dinner most nights that we would head back to the hotel. We will use our TS credits for signature dining or the shows.

 

[janloz]

Ok, continuing on to the Great Movie Ride, the line wasn't long, we had to wait about 10 minutes and then on to the tram part of the ride.

It was a cool ride and the kids really like the end and were glad we did it. After the ride, we decided to head back to POP but we had promised Mark he could get the Star Wars Legos he wanted so Dave took him that way and the rest of us headed for the gate to hand in the scooter. On the way out, it was time for the parade

it was really cool but I still prefer the parade that goes past and you can see everything rather then just certain parts.

 

[janloz]

After a quick change of clothes, we took the bus over to MK then transferred to WL bus for our ADR at Whispering Canyon.

While we were waiting for our ADR, we took advantage of the photopass photograher in front of tree.

Then it was finally time for

 

[CanadianWDWfan]

The photopass pics are lovely, they did a great job. They are all good shots.

I looked at my list of possible ADR's and there are alot of breakfast on there. I guess we are of like minds.

You have been to several of the ones I want to visit. Keep the TR going, I am enjoy it.

 

[janloz]

I can't find my receipt for WCC right now so I will skip the dinner portion and add it later. So at dinner, I put the news around to skip dessert since we would be having cake later. The CM did bring Mark a cupcake with a candle and our section sang Happy Birthday. She did mention that they were no longer allowed to embarass guests (even if we asked her to embarass him ). So we kind of rushed to finish since I had to get to the boat launch and meet up with the Cm by 7pm. The others wanted to take some more pics in the lobby so I gave Dave the property map and explained how to get to the boat. He didn't know the surprise I had planned and was arguing that the path I showed him didn't go to the launch to MK. "Tonight it does, please just meet me there by 7:30pm." So off I ran to meet up with the boat captain and actually ended up following the CM with the cart with our cake, tea, coffee, etc to the boat. I met up with our CM Bill, settled the bill and then the rest of the gang arrived. We had a 10 person pontoon boat for the Celebration Cruise. It took a minute for everyone to realize that it was Mark's special surprise for the night. Bill loaded all the goodies onto the boat, got Sarah a life jacket and we were on our way.

Bill took us around the lake with WL and Fort Wilderness. He explained a lot about the area and where they usually see alligators As you can see from the pics, it was chilly out there and we were wrapped up in the blankets. We continued over the water bridge, past the contemporary and new DVC and then to the Poly. They are so beautiful at night.

Then about 7:55pm, Bill pulls the boat up into position in front of MK on 7 Seas Lagoon and says that we better have cake now since the fireworks will be starting shortly. Everyone looks at me and says "Fireworks, we get to watch the fireworks from here!!" SCORE a big one for mom. So we dig into the cake:

and coffee, hot chocolate, tea and wait for the magic to start.

 

[janloz]

Here are the pics of Wishes from the boat:

 

[dawnbu40]

What a wonderful suprise not only for your DS but for the whole family! I'm enjoying your report!

 

[janloz]

What a wonderful suprise not only for your DS but for the whole family! I'm enjoying your report!

Thanks, it was funny when we were waiting for the fireworks to start, someone makes a comment to Mark about how special the cruise was and he should be thankful that we could do it. So he being 11 says, "We can do this every time." Now, if you have the means, I highly recommend the cruise, especially if you can split it with another family.

 

[janloz]

After the fireworks finished, Bill asked which resort marina we would like to end the night at and since some of the group still hadn't seen the gingerbread house we decided on GF. We boxed up the rest of the cake, gave Bill a really nice tip and headed to the back entrance of GF near GF Cafe. Bill suggested that we take the monorail to TTC and then Epcot to get bus back to POP since the lines would be long at MK after Wishes. Some of the pretty flowers inside.

So after making our way through GF and onto the monorail and to the TTC we just missed the monorail to Epcot which was a lucky thing since I asked the CM if the front of the next monorail would be available. and YES it was, another SCORE for mom. We got in the front with the kids since you can only take 4 people up front and the rest of the group got in the first car.

We started talking with the CM monorail driver who was at WDW on college program (boy would I have loved to do this when I was in college) and another CM comes in and asks if we mind if he rides with us in monorail to Epcot. Guess what, the driver's name is Sarah and the other CM is Marc, NO WAY, what are the odds???

They were so nice and did some pin trading with the kids. They also gave them monorail driver licenses when we got to Epcot. THANK YOU!!! It was a great way to end an incredible evening. We got to the POP bus and turned in for the night.

Happy Birthday, Mark!!! Hope you had an incredible birthday!!!

Up next......DTD, BBB and ALOT of Legos......

 

[MeMom]

Great pictures of all of the family! I love the fact that those kids have all those fabulous grandparents who obviously adore them.

That is fun that the CM's had the same names as the kids. Glad you guys had such a wonderful time!

 

[DisGirlAllie]

I'm loving your report so far!
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[janloz]

Great pictures of all of the family! I love the fact that those kids have all those fabulous grandparents who obviously adore them.

That is fun that the CM's had the same names as the kids. Glad you guys had such a wonderful time!

Thanks, a lot more pics coming up. I have been following your TR too.

I'm loving your report so far!
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thanks, hope to get some more done tomorrow.

 

[Happy Elf]

What a neat birthday treat for Mark! Riding up front on the monorail looks fun!

 

[janloz]

What a neat birthday treat for Mark! Riding up front on the monorail looks fun!

During our last trip, it was Sarah's 5th bday and I hired Gifts of a Lifetime to do a scavenger hunt around MK which was amazing so I wanted to try and find something equally special but also enjoyable for the rest of the group. The celebration wishes cruise certainly was.

We had ridden in the front of the monorail around the MK loop a few times but this was the first time to Epcot and the kids and us really enjoyed it. I would like to do it during the day too so we could see the grounds better. One of the best "free" things at WDW.