Timandlesley's The Sum of Our Thrills TR w/ tons of pics&video 9/27 PTR link pg.58

[sharonW]

Lesley, LOVE "greatful" on your Life as Lesley
blog. We all have to stop and think about all we
have and not what we don't have!!

 

[pooh'smate]

Luke is such a great big brother. I can not wait to try that soup and pretzel bread from Le Cell, it looks so yummy.

 

[camsmomE]

DH and I have been discussing a second child... your story about Luke and the pin for his sister just sealed the deal! Tears streaming!

 

[MagicShell]

to Tim's picture. for Luke looking out for his sister.

 

[MAJ RN]

First I have to say that Lauren is very lucky to have such a caring big brother! That mushroom filet, to die for!! I have to have it every time we go to le Cellier. Great update, ready for more!!!





Melissa

 

[jerseygirl81]

What a great night I love Lecellier and just soaking in the atmosphere of Epcot. Lukes a good big brother and he's gotten so handsome. Linda

 

[Conniesaurus]

Great posts! My daughter and I love reading your reports! You do such a fantastic job, and your family always seems to get along well with one another. I love how great of a big brother Luke is.

We are DVCers too (WL and currently purchasing resale at BW) and this summer for my daughter's college graduation (she's a teacher too-elementary and early childhood...on the job hunt currently!!!) we are going to Disneyland! So we'll miss WDW but are loving "vacationing" there with your report!

Looking forward to the next post! Thanks for the fun!

 

[dallastxcpa]

I am loving your trip report. My DH would probably have a fit if I posted a picture of him with a towel on his head.

You guys have soooo much fun on your trips. I am going to try and remember when we go later this month to just have fun and not worry about fitting every little thing in. That is the great thing about DVC we always know that we will be back.

 

[Poolrat]

Oh great update.
Loving the mushroom filet at LeCellier.

Can't wait we eat there in Sept for free dining.


The kids are so sweet. I love the way Luke takes care of Lauren

 

[Sweetpeamd]

I am having so much fun following your report. Lauren's poses are cracking me up!! Where did she learn to do that??? She's killing me!

Keep up the wonderful work!

 

[luvfigment]

I laughed very loudly when I saw the first picture of Tim in the towel! LOL. The picture of you and Lauren in the room before heading to Epcot came out really good. YUM YUM is right about Le Cellier. I could go for some pretzel bread and cheddar cheese soup right now. It is too funny how much Luke is like Tim.

What a sweet brother Luke is trading any pin so Lauren could have one also. You have some special kids.

 

[jwwi]

Dinner at Le Cellier looks so good. It sure looks like you had a great first day at Disney. Sounds like pin trading was fun for the kids this trip, I guess we will have to wait to see if they are able to find more Puffle pins.

 

[DevonsDisneyMom]

All caught up!!! I just love reading your reports! Can't wait to hear more about your trip. We are staying at AKL for the first time in December. Any tips or advice about staying there is much appreciated!

 

[suzannef]

Hi Leslie I just wanted to thank you for your wonderful trip reports! Imagine how excited I was to get into the car after six wonderful days in Disney and log into the disboards on my iPad and have an awesome trip reort to read!! I was having horrible withdrawal I have read all of your trip reports and just. Love your writing style and pure optimism on life
I didn't realize you were going on a Disney cruise next summer! We have been on three and if you think the World has magic and wonderful service you will not believe how magical the cruise is! I still have about 15 more hours in the car, wish you had more done lol. Thanks again for sharing your family adventures with all of us! Ps can't believe how big the kids have gotten!

 

[disneyfan61]

Love the LeCellier update. We LOVE that place & make sure it is on our ADR list.

Your DH looks great!! Congrats to him for the weight loss.

What an awesome big brother Luke is to get a pin for Lauren.

 

[timandlesley]

Le Cellier, it doesn't get any better than that....no words are needed

What a wonderful big brother Luke is That made me weepy. Great update Lesley....loving the report!

Thanks, Luke is LOVING all of these compliments, so thank you

Man I love your TR! and I simply adore your little T.V. stay-tuned feature

That was Tim's idea, glad you liked it.

What a thoughtful big brother Luke is! Glad that they both ended up with the pins they wanted. Your photos of Epcot were beautiful!! And Le Cellier didn't look bad either. Yum!

I'm happy they ended up with the pins too. : )

I ordered the ONE AND ONLY thing ANYONE ordering a steak at LeCellier should order, THE MUSHROOM FILLET!!!!!!!!

If that didn’t make you drool, let’s get a closer look for ya:

Drooling!!!!!!!! Yum-O! My favorite!





Then Lauren was upset, we didn’t realize she wanted them too (guess she got into the hunting aspect and she does love Club penguin). So Luke, being an awesome big brother found ANOTHER one this kid had and said to the boy “I’ll trade you ANYTHING on my lanyard, ANYTHING for a puffle pin for my sister”, and instantly they both had puffle pins:

That is so sweet. What a good big brother.

Thanks, yes the mushroom fillet is SO yummy, that pic makes me drool too. Luke loved your comment, thanks : )

Luke is such a sweet big brother.
The food at Le Cellier looks so good. I can't wait for August!

Thanks, Luke loved your comment, August will be here before you know it!

great stories,,,,,,,,,,,,we leave in just 8 days and Its s cool reading your reports and getting psyched!

How fun, hope you have a great trip!

What a great update. The food at Le Cellier looks good, especially the pretzel bread and Smores Dessert

Funny pic of tim with the towel around his head


What a sweet brother Luke is.

Thanks, glad you enjoyed the update.

Now you've made me hungry! That was a great pic of the fountains and the ball, along with all the others, of course. That was a great end to the day, and of course, a super-sweet big brother!

We brought the good camera along this trip and hauled it out to the parks at night so you should see a difference in the photo quality between the a.m. and p.m. photo's.

OH gosh I am counting down until our next Le Cellier visit! Cheddar Cheese Soup is like my favorite thing ever. I think I'd still get it if it were $100 a bowl... shhh... don't tell Disney.

Luke is such a sweet boy doing that for his sister. You should be proud!

I agree, don't tell Disney ! : )

Fun update! Your Epcot night sounds lovely -- Le Cellier and pin hunting!!! Luke was very sweet to track down a Club Penguin pin for Lauren!

It was a great night, but what night at Epcot isn't right!?!

Another great update.

I don't like mushrooms at all but have to admit that your meal looks devine!!

Will be difficult for me to decide what to have when we eat there next August as i love sauce over my steak but don't like mushrooms. Have you tried anything else there?

What a great big brother and a really kind gesture. Looking forward to the next installment.

PS that photo of Tim made me laugh!

I'm not a huge mushroom fan either, but that steak ROCKS!!!! Tim liked his steak but he tried mine and said it was better. Glad you enjoyed the photo of Tim, he totally posed for it, cracked me up!

Great shot of the tronorail and how wonderful that Luke is so good to Lauren!

Can't wait to read more!

I love the tronorail, didn't get to ride it this trip but got some good shots.

Wow! Your first night sounds exactly like mine! Le Cellier and evening pool side! No hunt for the Puffle pins though! I had no idea they were so popular! Cute. I saw several of those -- funny how when you are looking for a particular one it can be more challenging than when it just happens to be on a CM! That dessert (smores) is the best, I agree!!!! And the soup and pretzel bread, yup, can't be beat!

You all look like you had a fantastic first day fun filled and happy! And what fun to see Pooh and Tigger, too!

Yeah, that is funny, we did run accross some other puffles but they were hard to spot. Glad you had a good first night too.

Grreat pics as always. Food looks delish!
Can't wait for more!!!

More coming tonight : )

What a great, relaxing evening with some of the BEST FOOD EVER!!!!!!!! Those pictures made my stomach growl and instantly become hungry! It is such a shame we couldn't have a Le Cellier up here isn't it!!!!!!!! GREAT update.....loved those beautiful pics of Epcot at Sunset!!!

Make my stomach growl too. Those Epcot pics did turn out well, glad you liked em'.

Yes, you did! The best part is how serious he looks!

I love your necklace!


If I recall, you mentioned how hard Tim had been working before your trip to get in shape... WOW! It paid off. You look great, Tim!

Just LOVE the father/son/goofball pictures. They are so much fun!

Tim totally posed for that picture, cracked me up. Thanks for your Tim compliments, he truly appreciated that.

Great update! I love the way Luke is so protective of his sister's feelings!

Yes he is, thanks for your comment, he sure appreciated it.

Oh. My. GOODNESS. That is just cruel, Lesley!!! That is exactly what I ordered when we were there for Spring break, and you brought that mouth-watering moment back to me with this amazing picture. Drooling.....

Two of my favorite things as well!


Such a sweet story! I'm glad Luke found his pin, and provided you with another sibling love story!


Thanks for the birthday update!! Loving your Trip Report, as always!

Glad you are enjoying it, happy b-day

Great update as always. That picture of Tim is too funny he must have a great sense of humor. My hubby probably wouldn't want me to post that. I love Le Cellier!! That mushroom filet is the best! Glad you were able to see the Pooh characters in UK. That is so sweet of Luke to trade one of his pins fso Lauren could have a club penguin pin too.

He has a GREAT sense of humor, he posed for it knowing full well it would end up on here.

Great pics as
always. Luke is such a great big brother. You should be extremely proud.

Thank you, I am : )

Another great update, as usual!

YUM! Le Cellier looked AMAZING!!!

What a sweet son you have; Lauren is lucky to have such a great brother!

Thanks, Luke is LOVING all of these nice comments about him, so thanks everyone!

GREAT update, we love LeCellier too, I order the same thing.. YUM, also love the shots you took when leaving, good ones looking forward to another update.

It is the best, glad you enjoyed the shots, they were taken with the knew Cannon camera

 

[timandlesley]

Luke is seriously the sweetest big brother!!!! What a wonderful boy to think of his sister like that
MMMM LeCellier..we are going there for the first time in November...looks delicious!

You are so sweet to say that, Luke appreciated that, thanks. You will love LeCellier!

Tim's picture cracked me up. He looks so serious.

The food looks amazing. Wish I could find pretzel bread like that at home.

Luke is so sweet. I bet they'll be great friends their entire life.

Cracked me up too, he posed for it : ) I hope they are friends their entire life.

Ooo the food looks great. I could go for some of that now. LOL. Aww sooo nice of him to find a puffle pin for his sister too.

ME TOO!!!! Would kill for a mushroom fillet tonight.

great dinner pictures--it was exciting to see them since we're eating there in 15 days
as always, fun update

WOO HOO!!! How exciting, have a great trip

My mission next time we go is to get a ressie at Le Cellier!!

What a sweet big brother to find a Puffle pin for his sister, Awwww

That's a good mission to have, great place to dine!

Lesley, LOVE "greatful" on your Life as Lesley
blog. We all have to stop and think about all we
have and not what we don't have!!

Thanks, I enjoyed writing it, glad you enjoy the blog.

Luke is such a great big brother. I can not wait to try that soup and pretzel bread from Le Cell, it looks so yummy.

Thanks, Luke appreciated your comment very much, oh yes, it is yummy especially dipped in the great soup!

DH and I have been discussing a second child... your story about Luke and the pin for his sister just sealed the deal! Tears streaming!

I had Luke read this, he was so touched, thank you for what you said here, so very sweet. I wish you all the best!!!

to Tim's picture. for Luke looking out for his sister.

Glad you found it entertaining : )

First I have to say that Lauren is very lucky to have such a caring big brother! That mushroom filet, to die for!! I have to have it every time we go to le Cellier. Great update, ready for more!!!





Melissa

Thanks! More coming tonight!

What a great night I love Lecellier and just soaking in the atmosphere of Epcot. Lukes a good big brother and he's gotten so handsome. Linda

Me too, I could walk around Epcot and get lost in it forever, such fun. Luke REALLY loved your handsome comment, every where we go people compliment Lauren on her curls and Luke just hangs his head, he rarely gets compliments, so yours made his day!!!

Great posts! My daughter and I love reading your reports! You do such a fantastic job, and your family always seems to get along well with one another. I love how great of a big brother Luke is.

We are DVCers too (WL and currently purchasing resale at BW) and this summer for my daughter's college graduation (she's a teacher too-elementary and early childhood...on the job hunt currently!!!) we are going to Disneyland! So we'll miss WDW but are loving "vacationing" there with your report!

Looking forward to the next post! Thanks for the fun!

Thanks so much, glad you enjoy it. Disneyland should be fun, it's on our list for future trips. Hello to your daughter too : )

I am loving your trip report. My DH would probably have a fit if I posted a picture of him with a towel on his head.

You guys have soooo much fun on your trips. I am going to try and remember when we go later this month to just have fun and not worry about fitting every little thing in. That is the great thing about DVC we always know that we will be back.

So glad you are enjoying it. Tim posed for that pic, knowing full well it would be in here, that's just the type of people we are : ) I agree, love love love DVC!!!

Oh great update.
Loving the mushroom filet at LeCellier.

Can't wait we eat there in Sept for free dining.


The kids are so sweet. I love the way Luke takes care of Lauren

Thanks so much. Ohhhh free dining, LUCKY!!!

I am having so much fun following your report. Lauren's poses are cracking me up!! Where did she learn to do that??? She's killing me!

Keep up the wonderful work!

You know, we have know idea, Lauren just is FULL of personality, she definitely doesn't get the posing from me, she's been doing it since she was very little. Glad you enjoy the TR.

I laughed very loudly when I saw the first picture of Tim in the towel! LOL. The picture of you and Lauren in the room before heading to Epcot came out really good. YUM YUM is right about Le Cellier. I could go for some pretzel bread and cheddar cheese soup right now. It is too funny how much Luke is like Tim.

What a sweet brother Luke is trading any pin so Lauren could have one also. You have some special kids.

Glad we made you laugh, he makes me laugh like that daily. I agree, like father like son. Thanks for the special kids comment, very sweet!

Dinner at Le Cellier looks so good. It sure looks like you had a great first day at Disney. Sounds like pin trading was fun for the kids this trip, I guess we will have to wait to see if they are able to find more Puffle pins.

It was a great day. Puffles do make an appearance later

All caught up!!! I just love reading your reports! Can't wait to hear more about your trip. We are staying at AKL for the first time in December. Any tips or advice about staying there is much appreciated!

So glad you find them entertaining. AKL is a GREAT place, you will love it. Request a room close to an elevator, take advantage of the fun activities, I'll detail all of them that we experience here in a bit. Be sure to eat at Boma and if you can at Jiko, AMAZING!!!

Hi Leslie I just wanted to thank you for your wonderful trip reports! Imagine how excited I was to get into the car after six wonderful days in Disney and log into the disboards on my iPad and have an awesome trip reort to read!! I was having horrible withdrawal I have read all of your trip reports and just. Love your writing style and pure optimism on life
I didn't realize you were going on a Disney cruise next summer! We have been on three and if you think the World has magic and wonderful service you will not believe how magical the cruise is! I still have about 15 more hours in the car, wish you had more done lol. Thanks again for sharing your family adventures with all of us! Ps can't believe how big the kids have gotten!

Well, you are quite welcome, glad you enjoy them. Can't wait for our cruise, will be such fun. Hope you arrived home safely. I can't believe it either, they are growing WAY too fast for my taste : )

Love the LeCellier update. We LOVE that place & make sure it is on our ADR list.

Your DH looks great!! Congrats to him for the weight loss.

What an awesome big brother Luke is to get a pin for Lauren.

Yes, LeCelier is on the top of my list for ADR's in Epcot too. Thanks for the Tim comment, he truly appreciated that and Luke appreciated your comment as well, so you really made the men in my life happy, thanks : )

 

[dddisrunner]

OK, LMAO at Tim posing, of course he is such a diva...he loves his
SHA-NANIGANS doesn't he! You look beautiful in those before dinner pictures! Luke looks so grown up and handsome that night too (Hi Luke!) Lauren cracks me up with her posing, love that girls spirit! How GREAT was Luke willing to trade ANY pin for Lauren!!!! What a special big brother moment! GREAT update, looking forward to what is next!!!

 

[timandlesley]

Disney Day 2 June 17th:
So today was a Hollywood Studio’s Day, we awoke around 7:30 and ate breakfast in the room headed to the bus stop:

We were down at the bus stop by 8:20 in hopes to make it to Hollywood Studio’s by rope drop. Well, we didn’t have much bus mojo that morning. The bus had just left when we got there so we had to wait about 15 minutes and then it stops at Blizzard Beach so we didn’t pull into Hollywood studio’s until 9:05. I was still hopeful our plans would work out fine but then I saw the crowds, YIKES!

Here is a shot of the stage, they have Summer Nightastick concerts there at night:

We headed to Toy Story Mania and the kids and I jumped in the LONG (down past the Ariel show) line for the fast passes

Tim headed forward to check out the standby line, it was RIDICULOUS at this point!!! So Tim stood in line and the kids and I went back to the hat hoping to catch Minnie Mouse and Daisy duck who we had just seen by the hat, on the way we saw this guy:

NO SUCH LUCK for the other characters, as we got there they were already closing up the lines. This wasn’t turning out to be good timing for us this morning.
Tim FINALLY got back to us with the fast passes and the return time wasn’t until around 11:30 so that locked us out of getting any additional fast passes. We headed down to see wait times for Rockin’ Roller Coaster hoping that would be o.k. and we could ride it standby:

The line for that was 65 minutes long already! YIKES!!!
Tower of Terror was 60 minutes also, not a good morning at Hollywood Studios. Sooooooo we decided to ride something we could get on easily (it was another HOT morning and all that running back and forth in the heat had already gotten to us) so we headed to the Great Movie Ride,

NO LINE FOR THAT!

Then we headed over to Star Tours

We realized Lauren hadn’t been on it since she was itty bitty, and she didn’t remember it at all so that was fun.

She had fun in the gift shop after the ride:

We grabbed a snack at a snack cart and had some water:

After that and we decided our best bet would be to see an American Idol Show.

That was fun as always. We had 3 very talented young ladies and it was a hard decision, we were all pretty into the show so that was a good time. I had never noticed the gift shop that has tons of American Idol Merchandise outside of the show, but we looked at that and Lauren found this marked down for only $1.50, PERFECT for Lauren!!!

After that we were ready for lunch, we ate somewhere we never had before( I think it was called the Backlot Express), it was inside and air conditioned and it wasn’t the commissary so that made us happy.

I had a sandwich that was just o.k., Tim had a burger and the kids had chicken.

After our bellies were full it was FINALLY time to use our Toy Story Mania Fast Passes. It was around noon at this time and the fast passes for the day were already gone:

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[timandlesley]

Tim and I rode together, he was going to try and talk me through all of the things he learned during Disapalooza to unlock the boards.

Luke and Lauren rode together.

I just LOVE LOVE LOVE this ride. Of course Tim had to rub it in that he got to ride it over and over and over again in December for his guys only Disapalooza trip (LUCKY!!!) I tried to keep up with his directions and we did unlock a few boards but I found that whole concept confusing and frustrating because I like to just shoot and have fun randomly to pump up my score. We both did o.k:

Tim’s was the higher one:

They now show you the highest score in the car which is a cool feature:
It was a SUPER hot day and by now it was almost 1:00 so we decided to head back to the hotel for a swim.
It was a HOT walk back to the bus:

Great time to sit in the shade, spray yourself with a spray fan and pray the bus comes quickly:

The kids were super excited and got their suits on and we raced down to the pool.

As we approached the pool deck I noticed a dark cloud approaching, I warned the kids to get in quickly because we may get rained out again. WE got a WHOLE FIVE MINUTES in the pool this time before the lifeguards blew their whistled, the kids were SO upset (so was I). Here they were with their sad faces and the number 2, showing you this was the second day in a row of bad pool luck:

Isn’t it pathetic how their faces go from EXTREME joy and excitement to EXTREME disappointment!?! Oh well, it’s Disney, things are going to look up quickly right. Like, finding a hidden Mickey on your way back up to the room:

We went up and changed and decided to make the most of it. Tim was feeling guilty for all of the eating and not working out. He has changed his lifestyle completely and is at the gym 5-6 times per week at home, so he hit the gym:

The kids and I went down to explore the lobby:

Take in the animals in the savannah:

It was SO humid, I had a hard time keeping the lense wiped off:

We had read in the hotel activities for the day that you could trade with “King Pin” in the lobby so the kids were thrilled about that. We were there promptly at 3:00.

King Pin came out all decked out.

He literally rolls out a red carpet for you. If you are standing on it, it is your turn to trade with King Pin. He tells you he has a mystery bag and then his lanyard and bag with pins you can see. You get 2 turns to trade, you can do mystery bag or what you can see.
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