There's a Chipmunk Eating Your Head !! (Day 6 - Part 5 -updated 1/1)

[jecskc]

I've only been to the Captain's Grille for breakfast (which we really enjoyed), but the dinner looks good too!

It was good. Service was excellent. Next time I am ordering a steak though !!

 

[jecskc]

Day 2 – Part 11

After dinner, we went back to the villa to grab some jackets.

Because we were going to take the boat over to Hollywood Studios to see the Osborne Family Festival of Lights. I was so excited. I kept trying to explain this to my DH, but I just don’t think he was prepared for how awesome it was.

Here’s the Hollywood Studios tree as we were approaching from the dock.

Some photos on the way over to the lights

Entering the tunnel onto the street.

Exiting the tunnel

And then ….

WOW. We were all in awe and DH turned to me and said, “This is awesome !! You didn’t tell me they would be this awesome”. Well, I tried. But until you actually SEE it for yourself, you just can’t describe it.

So, of course we took lots of photos.

You can’t see it in the photos, but they were blowing snow.

 

[jecskc]

Lights (cont’d)

After enjoying the lights, the kids wanted to ride Star Tours.

This ride makes me sick, so I waited while DH took the kids.

We rode the Great Movie Ride and then made our way back to the boat and when we got back to the Boardwalk, we went to bed.

The next day was Thanksgiving and I had a busy day planned.

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

There really is no way to describe the lights without some sort of visual aid. "There's a lot of lights! No, millions of them! Everywhere!" Glad that everyone was amazed by them! Aren't they awesome?

 

[jecskc]

There really is no way to describe the lights without some sort of visual aid. "There's a lot of lights! No, millions of them! Everywhere!" Glad that everyone was amazed by them! Aren't they awesome?

They are absolutely amazing. DH and the kids still talk about them. Even pictures don't do them justice. It was pretty crowded, but we didn't really notice because there was so much to see. We REALLY enjoyed the lights. One of the highlights of our trip !!!

 

[jecskc]

Day 3 -Thursday, Nov. 24 – Thanksgiving Day

Part 1

We got up at 6:30 AM and left the resort to get our ADR at Whispering Canyon at Wilderness Lodge at 7:30 AM. The restaurant opened at 7:30 AM and we were the fourth family in line. We were given a buzzer and I went took some photos.

DS went over to the gift shop to trade one his Vinylmation. He got:

We waited for a long time to get seated. At least it seemed long for a 7:30 AM opening and we were the fourth family in line. Several others were getting a little perturbed by it as well. We didn‘t get seated until 7:45 AM and didn’t even see our waitress until 7:50 AM It was after 8:00 AM when we got our food. We had hoped to get to MK by a reasonable hour and our hopes of that were quickly dashed. The restaurant was not crowded and there didn’t seem to be anything amiss, but breakfast here took too long in my opinion. Our server was very nice and we got good service.

DS took some photos while we waited for our food.

DH and I got a skillet to share.

It had bacon, eggs, biscuits, Mickey waffles, potatoes and that is sausage gravy in the middle. Everything was good except for the eggs, which were runny.

DS got a plain waffle and it came with sausage.

He seemed to like this and ate most of it.

DD got Mickey waffles and bacon.

I’ve got to get me one of these !! Frying pans !! ….Who knew ??

We didn’t get out of there until after 9:00 AM and then DS wanted to go back to the gift store to buy more Vinylmation with his money.

 

[jenneth79]

Great report! The lights were absolutely AMAZING... one of these years we'll get down there during the Holidays....one of these years.....

I love how you chronicle the Vinylmation obsession..... it started that way for my DH as well, then I got on board and it was all over.

Looking forward to reading more!

 

[jecskc]

Great report! The lights were absolutely AMAZING... one of these years we'll get down there during the Holidays....one of these years.....

I love how you chronicle the Vinylmation obsession..... it started that way for my DH as well, then I got on board and it was all over.

Looking forward to reading more!

Thanks so much for reading and taking the time to say hello. We loved the lights and were so pleased that we went during Thanksgiving so we could see all of the Christmas stuff. We definitely plan on going next year.

I am resisting the urge to buy my own, but I have enjoyed watching the kids get into them. I have to admit that now, I think some of them are really cool.

 

[partyof2]

Joining in and catching up!

I absolutely love your villa, especially the kitchen and bathroom. I think it's adorable. Love the light and fresh colours.

Before I scrolled down to see the FOOD PORN (my greatest love!) I spent a few minutes drooling over the menu Boardwalk to Go menu (love that you posted a pic of this) and deciding what I'd have - I would have gone for the hot dog basket too.

The boardwalk is beautiful, it's like something from an old movie.

And if the boardwork is like something from an old movie, an empty Dinoland is like something from a horror movie! I thought your pictures were so errie.

I've only ridden Kali once and I was the unlucky one who gets the proper SOAKING! Never again, I enjoy rides like Splash where getting a little wet is part of the fun but I think KRR is over the top.

The onion rings from Flame Tree BBQ look YUM! Unfortunately I HATE BBQ flavouring so I wouldn't choose to eat there Often my hatred for BBQ makes me sad!

What a great idea to buy pins of each of the resorts you've stayed in!

Erm, that clown slide? Scary, and that's coming from someone who isn't even afraid of clowns!!

The chicken from the Captain's Grille looks delicious! High five on you deciding to order steak next time, DOWN WITH SALAD.

Oh and congrats on the weight loss so far! I'm so glad you took a break whilst at Disney, I hate to think of anyone having to watch what they eat on vacation. Vacation = food as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Whispering Canyon had been one of our considered breakfast ADR's for a bit, because of the skillet. It looks fun, but I gotta say, I'm deterred by runny eggs! (More so than slow service! )

 

[jecskc]

Joining in and catching up!

I absolutely love your villa, especially the kitchen and bathroom. I think it's adorable. Love the light and fresh colours.

Before I scrolled down to see the FOOD PORN (my greatest love!) I spent a few minutes drooling over the menu Boardwalk to Go menu (love that you posted a pic of this) and deciding what I'd have - I would have gone for the hot dog basket too.

The boardwalk is beautiful, it's like something from an old movie.

And if the boardwork is like something from an old movie, an empty Dinoland is like something from a horror movie! I thought your pictures were so errie.

I've only ridden Kali once and I was the unlucky one who gets the proper SOAKING! Never again, I enjoy rides like Splash where getting a little wet is part of the fun but I think KRR is over the top.

The onion rings from Flame Tree BBQ look YUM! Unfortunately I HATE BBQ flavouring so I wouldn't choose to eat there Often my hatred for BBQ makes me sad!

What a great idea to buy pins of each of the resorts you've stayed in!

Erm, that clown slide? Scary, and that's coming from someone who isn't even afraid of clowns!!

The chicken from the Captain's Grille looks delicious! High five on you deciding to order steak next time, DOWN WITH SALAD.

Oh and congrats on the weight loss so far! I'm so glad you took a break whilst at Disney, I hate to think of anyone having to watch what they eat on vacation. Vacation = food as far as I'm concerned.

And thanks so much for saying hello !!

The Boardwalk was amazing in every way. We really loved the villa and we really lucked out on the location which was ideal for our family.

The food at Boardwalk To Go was really good the hot dogs tasted really yummy (as if they were all beef) and the kids enjoyed the nachos.

Boardwalk is really beautiful. I just love its old timey feel. And if you love Epcot, you cannot beat the location. Literally just a five minute walk away.

We were all about the empty park that morning. It DID get super crowded later. Yes, I am always the one that gets COMPLETELY soaked on Kali. I just really have to be in the mood. And it has to be really hot for me to be in the mood. And it wasn't cold that day at all, just not hot enough for me to desire a drenching.

I love onion rings and the ones from Flame Tree BBQ were good, but the ones we got at Beaches and Cream later in the trip were much better. Don't worry, there's food porn of those too !! I was kinda "meh" about Flame Tree. I dunno if we will go back.

I just love the pins. And I love the ones from each resort. It is fun.

The clown slide didn't bother me. I don't find clowns creepy. Probably because I don't watch horror movies that much. It is funny how the horror flicks love their creepy, homicidal clowns.

The food at Captain's Grille was pretty good. The service was excellent and the Eco-tini was very enjoyable. Down with salad !! Yeah, I get sick of salad, but I really want to get this weight off. How else will my feet hurt less and my Disney t-shirts look cuter. Definitely got to lose it for those two reasons.

Thanks for the encouragement. Weight loss is REALLY hard for me. I have an emotional attachment to food and that is a problem. And my body clings to every ounce of fat and it refuses to let it go. And I am one of the types of people that gains five pounds if I lick a stamp. My co-worker can eat anything she wants and she never gains a pound. I swear she has a tapeworm ... and I am exceedingly jealous of it and want one for myself

I agree. Vacation = food. 'Nuff said.

Whispering Canyon had been one of our considered breakfast ADR's for a bit, because of the skillet. It looks fun, but I gotta say, I'm deterred by runny eggs! (More so than slow service! )

We really like whispering Canyon and the Mickey waffles there came right off the iron. They were so warm and fresh. Myself and DD ate our weight in those that morning. We have found that eggs are hit or miss at Disney. Sometimes they are good and sometimes - ick. My DH makes the best eggs ever. So good and fluffy. I haven't found a restaurant that can duplicate them, so I usually don't bother to order them when we go out. He can even make scrambled egg whites taste half way decent .....true story.

 

[jecskc]

Day 3 – Part 2

We didn’t get to Magic Kingdom until 10:00 AM.

Normally, this wouldn’t be too much of a problem, but on Thanksgiving the crowd was predicted to be a 10 so we were nervous about the crowd.

Casey’s Corner serves breakfast now.

Interesting ….

It didn’t seem too terribly crowded. The kids and I went over to BTMRR while DH got FP’s for Peter Pan.

Splash Mountain was not running on either of our MK days so we didn’t get to ride.

There was a decent crowd in front of BTMRR and the wait was listed as 30 min. So we decided to ride.

We definitely waited the full 30 minutes.

 

[jecskc]

Day 3 – Part 3

On this day DD’s teacher was supposed to be at MK as well and we had made plans with her to meet at the tea cups so DD could ride with her. I thought it was very sweet of her teacher to take time out of her busy day with her family to do this with her. So after BTMRR, I got a text from her that she was in the park and that they would meet us at the Tea Cups. DD was so excited and had talked about this for weeks, so I was very happy that our plans were coming to fruition.

DD, her teacher and her teacher’s DD5 got onto ride while we took photos.

My DD likes to spin it fast, so since I had a full tummy, I opted out.

And then they were done. I thanked her teacher so much for meeting us and riding. We said goodbye and went our separate ways. DD was so happy to have accomplished this and I was so touched that her teacher would do this with her.

Some Fantasyland construction photos.

The kids wanted a snack and we had credits to burn, so we said why not.

DD got some of those ice cream Dibs

And DS got a popscicle.

And I got a diet coke.

DD and DH rode the carrousel while DS and I looked in some gift shops.

DD tried the Sword in the Stone.

No luck.

DS looking cute

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

That's so sweet of DD's teacher to meet up with you guys at the teacups! How fun that they got to ride together!

 

[jecskc]

That's so sweet of DD's teacher to meet up with you guys at the teacups! How fun that they got to ride together!

I was very touched by it. It was so special to DD. It was all she talked about for days before and after the trip. We bought her teacher a Christmas present at Disney of course. She is a special teacher.

 

[marDgreen88]

Oops, I'm a little late but I just found this. Enjoying so far!

 

[IheartDDuck]

How cool that your DD's teacher met up with you guys for a ride on the teacups. That's so sweet.

30 minutes for BTMRR isn't too bad for that time of morning on Thanksgiving day. I'm trying to warn my friend for our New Year's trip that she needs to expect high crowds for the first few days. She's a newbie.

 

[jecskc]

Oops, I'm a little late but I just found this. Enjoying so far!

Hey girl !! Good to see you again ! Thanks for stopping to say hello !!

How cool that your DD's teacher met up with you guys for a ride on the teacups. That's so sweet.

30 minutes for BTMRR isn't too bad for that time of morning on Thanksgiving day. I'm trying to warn my friend for our New Year's trip that she needs to expect high crowds for the first few days. She's a newbie.

It really was special for DD to meet up with her and ride the tea cups with her.

I know it wasn't a bad wait, especially for that day. We were OK with it. We had that eternal struggle with whether or not to get FP's for BTMRR or PP and we chose Peter Pan. That day did get crazy though. It was definitely a 10 that day. Yikes !! That is why I was so perturbed that our breakfast took so long. Even with high crowds, if you get there early enough, you can get so much done. But you know this and I am sure you and your friend will have a blast. I bet you are so excited to show her everything. I can't wait to read that TR

 

[jecskc]

Day 3 – Part 4

DD and I then went to ride It’s a Small World. The wait was listed at 20 minutes, but it felt like we waited longer. While we were riding, DH and DS got me this coffee mug.

It is cute and I enjoy using it.

DH

We then used our bonus fast passes we got from our Peter Pan fast passes to see Mickey’s Philharmagic. We just walked right in and sat down. So that was cool. We LOVE this show and it is a must do every time we visit.

By this time the park was PACKED and we checked the wait for Haunted Mansion and it was at 45 min. We opted out and got in line to ride Peter Pan. The LINE for the Fast Pass. Which was very long. We almost didn’t do it, the line was so long. At this point it was about 11:30 AM and the wait for Peter Pan was 80 minutes. Wow.

So we decided to wait in the fast pass line and it took about 15-20 minutes just to get through the FP line.

We decided to leave since the waits for rides were getting ridiculous. We decided we would go over to some of the monorail resorts to look at Christmas decorations. On our way out of the park, I took some more photos.

We caught some of the parade.

DS traded Vinylmations at the Emporium.

DD got some princess color crayons.

So we left MK and hopped on the resort monorail and got off at the Poly. We had decided to eat lunch at Captain Cooks there.

DH found a nice quiet space outside to sit while I got food for all of us.

DS wearing DD’s body art.

DD was really digging her crayons.

 

[jecskc]

Day 3 – Part 5

View from our table

So DD got some kids nuggets

DS got a burger

And DH and I shared an Asian pulled pork sandwich.

This sandwich was really good and we enjoyed it.

And for dessert we got the famous dole whip – finally. This had been on my Disney “to do” list for a while now.

Did it live up to the hype ?? Yes … yes it did !! We went back for another !! So lite and yummy. Like pineapple sherbet. Sooo good !!

I remember this day being a beautiful day weather wise and we really enjoyed our quiet lunch at Captain Cooks.

Some resort photos.

We hit the gift shop and I got a hoodie

As we were boarding the monorail, some CMs gave the kids some monorail cards.

They were cool.

We then hopped on the monorail and headed over to the Grand Floridian. SUCH a beautiful resort !! Christmas décor was so pretty.