Tim and Lesley Year of Million Compromises/TONS pics- 8/5 help me pg. 164!!!

[eemmie1]

Great report so far. I can't wait till it is my turn to go

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

Oh Lesley, I am so glad that I checked the trip reports board!! I truly loved your last TR and this one is even better You are whetting my appetite for our trip in a couple of weeks

 

[gumdrops3]

Hi Lesley--
I have been reading your trip report from last year, the pre-trip report, and now this one. Your writing and pictures make it so fun to read. Can you believe the "fan base" you have built? There are over 1,000 posts on your trip report!! Must be strange to be sort of a celebrity and have all kinds of people feeling like they know you! I think it is awesome of you to take the amount of time it takes to write it all down in such interesting details.

The point of my post--I am a teacher too (in Wisconsin) and so I know all about how teachers can only vacation during the busiest Disney times of all--Christmas, Easter, and summer. Well this year, I convinced my husband (a teacher too) to just take a look at January. We found out that the resort rates and flights are so much cheaper in this "off-season" that it was a better deal for us to book the off-season and take a few days without pay from school. I am so excited to go to WDW during a quiet time of year, because before this I have only gone in June and December.

We put the "days without pay" next to our one "free day," over a weekend, and right next to a time where we had a built in day off during the week. I don't know if something like that would work for you, but it might be something to check into, and see if the rates are cheap enough for it to work out for your schedule.
Loving your trip report!!

 

[SmallWorld71]

I'm off to read more, but I just read your first day post and wanted to say that I really enjoyed it! My favorite picture was the one of your kids sleeping at the end of the day. Don't kids just look like beautiful angels when they are sleeping!

 

[timandlesley]

So when I left off we were showering and getting ready for dinner. We were all ready and at the bus stop by 5:45 since we had 6:30 reservations. It was a BEAUTIFUL night with a breeze so it didn’t feel hot. We made it to Coral Reef, Tim said “I’ll handle this” when we checked in, I didn’t question it and found a bench to sit on with the kids. I saw a manager come up and talk to Tim. . . . interesting. Anyway in about 10 minutes our buzzer went off and a man came out to show us to the table, I WAS SO EXCITED it was RIGHT next to the tanks. As the gentleman sat us he handed me a card that said “Happy Birthday Lesley from Coral Reef” that was very cute.
Here is a pic of Lauren and I at dinner:

I knew the kids would be into it but I had NO idea how much Luke would be into it. They gave him a paper that showed him all of the different fish in the tanks and their names, HE LOVED this and spent the entire meal in awe asking me the names of the fish. Here he is with his paper checking out the fish:

I had Lobster Bisque for an appetizer and Tim had some surf and turf appetizer with shrimp and meat on a stick he said it was o.k. The bisque was incredible!!! Here is Lauren enjoying her bisque she was able to order off of the kids menu:

Here is my handsome guy posing by the tank:

As we were waiting for our dinner to come out divers came over and asked us for food (one guy even pulled a spoon out of his diving suit, etc.) it was fun and entertaining. Here is one flexing for us:

I had to order fish at a seafood restaurant, I am glad I did, the Mahi Mahi was out of this world, I ate it all:

Tim ordered the steak he loved it:

Luke surprised me by wanting to order the fish, he absolutely loved his meal and ate every bite as well. Here is his dinner:

I also ordered a great drink it was called Octopus Juice, it was sooooo good! As we were finishing our Main Courses A diver was approaching our table again, I just thought it was going to be one begging for food again and then he pulled this sign out:

VERY COOL!!! It was so special. Then he picked up the shells around it and threw them around the sign, it looked like confetti, very sweet:

I was waiting for the waiter to come back so we could order desert but all of a sudden this appeared and they were singing Happy Birthday to me:

These were as good as they looked. Tim had arranged to have my favorites delivered to the table, soooo sweet (Tim scores points again doesn’t he : )
Here is a hidden Mickey on the strawberries:

Here are Lauren and I enjoying the chocolate Happy Birthday Sign:

We ate a TON of these, they were so good, still had 6 left so we put them in a box to go. Tim later told me that when he went to check in they didn’t have down the request for the tank side table or the diver wish but they did have the strawberries, I guess that is why the manager was approaching him before we were seated. He said they were VERY accommodating and had put it all together for us. It was SUCH an amazing birthday dinner!
So after an incredibly wonderful and filling birthday dinner we headed out on this gorgeous night to find a good spot for Illuminations. Here is a pic of Luke in the breeze by the lake:

Tim said he wanted to go hit a shop for a bit. He came back with surprises for the kids.
Lauren got a new Mickey necklace:

Luke got a Cars video game:

They were thrilled of course. The breeze was kicking up and it was a perfect night. Tim and I took this self portrait as we waited for the show to start:

Luke got his light up spinner Mickey ready as the sun went down:

Then the show began, if you haven’t seen this show, it really is just beautiful, not just beautiful but MEANINGFUL I just love it. Tim snapped this of Lauren and I as we watched:

The globe made it to the center:

The fireworks and show were incredible, the weather was just plain PERFECT what an incredible birthday!!!!! This was a perfect magical fantastic day!!!!!

Stay tuned, tomorrow we hit Epcot lots of fun, new experiences and a little drinking ahead, to be continued!!!!

 

[Nicole786]

Glad to see you got your diver! *sniff* it was only just yesterday we were talking about it in the Pre-TR! lol

Illuminations is my favorite fireworks show, i just love it! Can't wait to see if you got to see Wishes..and I cant wait to see more POFQ!

 

[timandlesley]

Lesley - love the trip report! I always look forward to reading them. You have such cute kids!!!! Tim did a wonderful job picking out the necklace.

Glad you are enjoying the report, hey the kids have my genes just kidding. Thanks for reading/posting.
Lesley

I am practically in tears reading your trippie!! I love your beautiful necklace and the pics are just wonderful!

So glad you are enjoying it!
Lesley

I am so enjoying your trip report. The picture of your family in front of the castle is perfect. I'm glad you had a great trip and I can't wait to hear more, especially the segment tonight with the tips.

Thanks, glad you liked the castle pic, just posted the new installment a few minutes ago, enjoy!
Lesley

As usual, this is a GREAT, GREAT trip report. I'm getting ready to start planning my second trip this year! I'm sure I'll have LOTS of questions for you!!!

So glad yo uare enjoying it, PM me with questions
Lesley

Tim and Lesley,
Loving this trip report. Loved your last one. I feel like I really know your family. I am also an Ohioan (grew up in Miamisburg and went to college at Xavier). Moved to Louisville for my job, but I will always be a Buckeye at heart. By the way my husband and I bought those "Tiki" shirts at our Disney store too!!

Great to have another Ohioan on board, thanks for reading.
Lesley

Great report so far. I can't wait till it is my turn to go

Have a great trip when it is your turn!
Lesley

Oh Lesley, I am so glad that I checked the trip reports board!! I truly loved your last TR and this one is even better You are whetting my appetite for our trip in a couple of weeks

Glad you found us again!Have fun in a few weeks, take me with you!!!!
Lesley

Hi Lesley--
I have been reading your trip report from last year, the pre-trip report, and now this one. Your writing and pictures make it so fun to read. Can you believe the "fan base" you have built? There are over 1,000 posts on your trip report!! Must be strange to be sort of a celebrity and have all kinds of people feeling like they know you! I think it is awesome of you to take the amount of time it takes to write it all down in such interesting details.

The point of my post--I am a teacher too (in Wisconsin) and so I know all about how teachers can only vacation during the busiest Disney times of all--Christmas, Easter, and summer. Well this year, I convinced my husband (a teacher too) to just take a look at January. We found out that the resort rates and flights are so much cheaper in this "off-season" that it was a better deal for us to book the off-season and take a few days without pay from school. I am so excited to go to WDW during a quiet time of year, because before this I have only gone in June and December.

We put the "days without pay" next to our one "free day," over a weekend, and right next to a time where we had a built in day off during the week. I don't know if something like that would work for you, but it might be something to check into, and see if the rates are cheap enough for it to work out for your schedule.
Loving your trip report!!

Wow, you've been doing a lot of reading! I would love to go in the off seasons you mentioned but our district is VERY strict and we are not allowed to take time off for vacations, even unpaid during the school year. Have a GREAT time in January, I'd love to go then.
Lesley

I'm off to read more, but I just read your first day post and wanted to say that I really enjoyed it! My favorite picture was the one of your kids sleeping at the end of the day. Don't kids just look like beautiful angels when they are sleeping!

Thanks for posting, glad you are enjoying it.
Lesley

 

[timandlesley]

Glad to see you got your diver! *sniff* it was only just yesterday we were talking about it in the Pre-TR! lol

Illuminations is my favorite fireworks show, i just love it! Can't wait to see if you got to see Wishes..and I cant wait to see more POFQ!

I know, you planted the seed for Tim, THANK YOU!!!! Illuminations is incredible isn't it! I do have more pics of POFQ, promise!
Lesley

 

[IluvXU]

Those are just too beautiful... perfect! I think I would have trouble eating something so pretty- Tim did very good!!!!!!!!! Did you have to wait long to get the table by the window... we desperately want that when we go in August. Did you see the Chocolate Wave- I want to see a picture and a review of that dessert. I think I picked my dinner- your fish looks great!

Another great bedtime story


Thanks for sharing again!

 

[kribit]

I'm going to Coral Reef just for the strawberry desert. YUMMMY!

Do you have to call ahead to request the diver to present a sign like Tim did for you? It's such a nice idea.

 

[KatInHat]

Hey Tim and Lesley, just wanted to let you know how much I am enjoying your tr. It sounds like you guys had a great trip; what a great way to spend your birthday. The strawberries look great.
Your kids are just beautiful !! I was so excited when I read that they got to wake Tinkerbell.
Thanks for taking the time to share your trip with us.

 

[timandlesley]

Those are just too beautiful... perfect! I think I would have trouble eating something so pretty- Tim did very good!!!!!!!!! Did you have to wait long to get the table by the window... we desperately want that when we go in August. Did you see the Chocolate Wave- I want to see a picture and a review of that dessert. I think I picked my dinner- your fish looks great!

Another great bedtime story


Thanks for sharing again!

Tim did do well. The table was arranged by Tim by talking with the manager, I think you can wait for them. The chocolate wave does look great in fact if he hadn't special ordered the strawberries it is what I would have ordered. I HIGHLY recommend the Mahi Mahi, it normally comes with couscous (spelling?) but I ordered the asparagas instead and am glad I did it was great.
Lesley

I'm going to Coral Reef just for the strawberry desert. YUMMMY!

Do you have to call ahead to request the diver to present a sign like Tim did for you? It's such a nice idea.

Oh no, those strawberries aren't normally there, those were specially ordered by Tim (he got a hook up from a friend of ours who works for Disney) and they were put on the bill. Yes, you would have to call ahead to request the diver.
Lesley

Hey Tim and Lesley, just wanted to let you know how much I am enjoying your tr. It sounds like you guys had a great trip; what a great way to spend your birthday. The strawberries look great.
Your kids are just beautiful !! I was so excited when I read that they got to wake Tinkerbell.
Thanks for taking the time to share your trip with us.

Glad you are enjoying it!
Lesley

 

[shannon47142]

I remember reading about the strawberries from last year--- how sweet for Tim to have them for you again!!! Enjoying your reports

Shannon

 

[gumdrops3]

Awesome report again! What a special birthday! That is incredible. I'm so glad you had such a perfect magical day. Thank you again for sharing the details.

 

[PittypatBR]

Lesley, what a wonderful birthday! Tim really went the extra mile - he must be pretty special, you need to hang on to him! I'm sure you're just as sweet and thoughtful to him, though. Everytime I see some of your pics I am struck again by how adorable your kids are. BTW, the chocolate wave IS excellent, but those strawberries were SPECIAL!

 

[disneymoon_0307]

That's so cool how you got a diver. Tim scored some major points. I bet he's wanting you to remember them next he messes up. The food looked awesome at CR. I just love food porn. I am going to get that steak. I'm not much of a fish eater except shrimp but I am really looking forward to it. Keep it coming. BTW...I so wanna know were Tim got you your bday necklace. I love it, I want one.

 

[jazzgirl]

Lesley-I am LOVING your trip report! You have to know it's good when you have me crying and smiling and laughing along with you! You have me so excited for our trip in October. And Luke and Lauren are the cutest! I can't wait for the next installment!

P.S. I absolutely love your tank you're wearing at Coral Reef, where did you get it??? If you don't mind me asking......

 

[sharonW]

This trip is soooo incredible!! I am moved to tears.
Absolutely love the necklace Tim gave you. You
truly made fantastic memories on this disney adventure!!!

 

[Lesprivate]

Another great birthday surprise from Tim. The Lobster bisque is my DD Emily's favorite. You got me so excited for my August trip that I started my own pre trip report.

 

[pooksma]

At the risk of inflating Tim's head even more...

Your birthday seems to have been very special. Lucky to have that good man.

Im impressed the kids would enjoy Coral Reef, not because of theme but the food. We have only recently gotten DS to try breaded fish.(prepping him for Rose and Crown)

Another great installment!