Hey Groupies,
Here is the rest of the Mini Trip Report from our family reunion w/pics from WL as promised-
We did the
MNSSHP on October 28 with 14 people. Had a great time and the kids all loved it. Took the boat back to the lodge (our meeting place for the group.) Not sure who recommended the cup cakes at Roaring Forks on here but it stuck in my head and I had 3 during the trip.
Oct 29 was our 20th wedding anniversary. My Dad (Grandpa = GP) and his girlfriend (GF) flew in bringing the family total to 16. We split up from the big group and went to MK. GP had not been here since 1981 when I was 15. He really enjoyed the park with his grandkids but I think we really hooked GF on the World. We did Crystal Palace for lunch and took the boat to Grand Floridian for our anniversary dinner at Narcoose's. They gave us personalized menus along with a champagne toast. Great location and view for Wishes and the ELP. We had to take them to our new "HOME" and show off the lobby. They were impressed and did the usual jaw hitting the floor when they walked in the lodge.
Oct 30 – Morning ressies with 12 family members at Chef Mickeys. Great time was had by all and I highly recommend the buffets when dining with groups this large. We took GP and GF to Epcot. Unfortunately my little guy had a meltdown so I took my kids back to our vacation villa for a midday break while my wife toured the world showcase with GP and GF. We ended up at the Mercantile and I purchased the mini totem pole – note holder and a WL magnet. I told the wife she could pick which one she wanted for her office and of course she got the pole and I ended up with the magnet.
Oct 31 – Halloween – Kids dressed up again and off to DHS. GP loved the new Toy Story ride and the Indiana Jones show. He chickened out on RR Coaster and Tower of Terror but his GF loved both. This was also the night they were taking the kids so my wife and I could celebrate our anniversary and stay at the site of our honeymoon, the Grand Floridian. We checked in, changed and hopped on the monorail for Epcot WS. It was strange strolling through the gate with no stroller, backpack, car keys or even a wallet! We indulged in some adult beverages and watched the British Invasion. After a few more beverages and some more strolling we headed over to the boardwalk area and the ESPN Zone. We had a late dinner reservation at Shula’s. If you like steak I highly recommend Shula’s. After dinner and more drinks I was happy to have the Disney bus system at our disposal. It was a great night and convinced us we need to do a trip to the world in the near future without the kids.
Nov 1 – Checked out of the Grand Floridian and picked up the kids, GP and GF. Today was Animal Kingdom. GP and GF really liked the Lion King show and Dinosaur. GP sat out Everest but his GF loved it. Did the Safari & Nemo before taking a break at the house to get ready for the wishes cruise. I felt bad that we would have to leave some family members out of this cruise but we could only take 10 people and when I booked this not everyone was sure they were coming on the trip. The lucky 9 were my family of 4, GP, GF and my cousin, his wife and daughter (fellow
DVC –VWL owners). Everyone enjoyed the cruise. Our boat skipper was friendly and very knowledgeable on Disney history. After the cruise we headed back to the WL dock and the real fireworks started.
Back Story – My daughter loved an eventful breakfast we had at Whispering Canyon on a previous trip. All she could talk about was that we had to take GP here. She boasted that Grandpa would be able to outdo the staff and embarrass them. I mean their whole shtick is based on the fact people don’t like having attention drawn to them in such public places. My dad didn’t come equipped with the part of the brain that causes embarrassment. He is loud and fun and to give you an idea of how much fun, I have been out of the house I grew up in for 20 plus years. To this day my friends from school will still pass by to see my dad and hang with him.
We had to cancel our Whispering Canyon reservation before the cruise because we were running late. Luckily after our cruise they were kind enough to seat all 9 of us. If they only knew hurricane Grandpa was coming they might have turned us away. Our poor waitress was originally from the Bronx. That was all GP needed being the loud and proud NYer he is. The second the straws and napkins were thrown at us they were returned in like fashion at the poor waitress. She knew at that point why she had left the Bronx. My daughter tried to set Grandpa up and asked him to get ketchup for her. GP had caught that trick and calmly explained to our waitress if he ordered a beer and every person in the place brought him over a beer he would accept the ketchup routine. If the beers were a no go then every bottle of ketchup over one would get thrown on the floor…lol…it sounds really bad but by this point she was warming up to him. She called over another waitress and made GP repeat his threat. They were stuck. Looking at him they knew he would do it so they snuck him over a tiny bottle of ketchup that no one else could see. This type of stuff continued and as you can imagine I left a VERY large tip. My daughter was in heaven and would probably say this was the highlight of the trip for her.
Nov 2 – Drove GP and GF to the airport. The rest of our reunion also headed home today. My immediate family was staying until 4th so we had 2 days to unwind. We relaxed by the pool at our rental home, hopped the parks to ride the favorites again, shopped Downtown Disney for the remainder of our stay.
Here are pics from the WL, the Cruise from the WL dock and a few of us, GP & GF:
Family at AK - Daughter, Me, Wife, Son, GF & GP
Kitchen Sink at Beaches and Cream - the 3 ladies ate it all (almost) with no help from the guys!
I'll post some pics from Wishes Cruise next week. Have a good weekend Groupies.
Well, I usually take about 4 crackers at a time and hold them over a bowl in a combination of both hands so that I use both of my thumbs to crush them. So if you just squeeze them up in your hands...so they're sorta chunky, not fine like the store bought bread crumbs in the canisters. If there's anything bigger than say a dime I will break that in 1/2 tho too...so not HOOGE chunks but not super fine crumbs either. (i.e. I would not roll them with a rolling pin or anything.) Crumbs maybe the size of a pencil eraser or ABOUT that size or a little larger would be good. If that makes any sense? 
!
:
!
