Turning into a Gustav Report! - We're home!

[Where'sPiglet?]

Still in too much pain to post. Will do later. Thanks for the hug. Jarret Lee for president

You're welcome. It DID hurt and I can only imagine how you must feel because you are QUITE the fan!

Here's another one:

 

[DisneyTiger]

You're welcome. It DID hurt and I can only imagine how you must feel because you are QUITE the fan!

Here's another one:

You know, honestly I really never thought we could pull it off after the Florida and Georgia games. Then we beat Tulane last week, woo hoo. Lee still threw an interception for touchdown - the only points that Tulane got in that game. The guy just doesn't cut it and he's all we got. He's about to break the school record of interceptions returned for TD's. The record is 7 and he's got 6 - just in the last 4 games!!!!! Sure doesn't make us look like National Champs! And to lose to Saban on our home field!!!!!!!! Ok, sorry to go off on a tangent there. It was painful and I'm still mourning. More Disney later. Happy Thoughts Happy Thoughts Happy Thoughts

 

[DisneyTiger]

Those surrey bikes look like fun. Someday maybe I'll rent one too. But those hills....

One time I almost got ran over by one of those bikes. Turns out it was my mom's best friend from high school. Go figure! *insert Small World music here*

And a RED dining room? I'm going to need to see photos. I don't think I'd be so brave to paint ANYTHING bright red! I'll be it looks great though...all those house photos in magazines where they use bold colors always look awesome.

The bikes were tough and I totally see how people could get run over! Especially coming down off of those hills. You really pick up some speed!

The dining room is finished. I will post a pic for you to see. It came out really pretty, but it was a pain in the booty.

I refused to ride the sury sp? bikes when we stayed at Boardwalk. I told Faron and the kids they could ride but not me. I still had our paddle boat ride in Mexico on my mind. I thought I was going to be washed out to sea I couldn't paddle the darn boat anymore and we couldn't get out and push. Of course Courtney was complaining the whole time. I wanted to throw her overboard. We were paddleing against the waves
I can't wait to hear how Chef Mickeys went. We didn't go because I didn't think my family would like the food. I don't know about your family but at the end of our disney vacations we all are desparate for rice and gravy. (you know, real food) Disney is supposed to release some great deal anouncement for the first half of 2009 today at 5:00 eastern. I heard about it on the discount code board. It is also on Mousesavers.

Let me just tell you, those bikes were a work out. It was fun though. I'd probably do it again. Maybe when the kids are old enough and can actuallly help peddal the thing I've never done a paddle boat. I think I would be freaked out by that.

Chef Mickey's had good food. But the best part was the sundae bar. Yum! That was so good!!!

 

[DisneyTiger]

Hello everyone. I am so so so so very sorry that I have been gone so long. I have been a busy bee. Among other things, I finally finished painting my dining room.I thought of you all and took a pic to show you.

Here is my dining room taken right before we moved in. Very beige and blah...

And here it is RED and with a new light fixture. Messy, but still pretty...

I realize that this is not the best shot but it gives you an idea. The color is great and it goes with the style of my house. It's probably about 75 years old and this color reminds me of something you would see in a plantation. I love it.

Ok ok, enough about work and paint. Time to talk Disney. When I last left y'all, we had just finished our grueling surry bike ride and were headed over to the CR for Chef Mickey's. We arrived a bit early and I decided to check in just to see if they could take us. The CM kind of looked at me like I was crazy but oh well. She gave me a buzzer and told me it would be a while. The kids were pretty restless so we took them in the gift shop to let them look around. Bad idea. Aubrey ran straight for a pair of Belle flip flops and began taking off her shoes on socks so that she could wear them. Uhhhh, this was cute and all, but the flip flops were 20 something dollars and I was not going to give in. Just then, our beeper went off! What do you know, and 30 minutes early at that! I now had to swoop Aubrey up off the floor, shoeless, and drag her into CM to take our family picture. Yeah, that went well. She eventually calmed down and our picture actually came out pretty cute. I don't have one uploaded. I will have to scan it and show you later. Ok, so off to our table we went. Let the stress begin!!! So here we are, with two starving kids and 4000 different foods to choose from. Jason and I immediately ordered drinks. I don't remember what I had but it was good. This was a very stressful meal. Here's what I had to accomplish: 1) feed kids 2) keep kids quite 3) take pictures of kids 4) take video of kids 5) get autographs from characters 6) feed myself. I needed 8 more arms. All in all, we had a really good time. There was no video taken. Just wasn't going to happen. Jason managed to get his food and actually enjoy it. Not sure how he did that.

First up was Goofy. Aubrey was still trying to figure this whole thing out...

Then came Pluto. He was in a silly mood. Here he is trying to sit in a highchair. Aubrey thought this was hilarious. It was pretty funny...

More Pluto pics...

Here he is playing with Brendan. He was copying what he was doing by putting his paws in his mouth. Brendan thought this was very funny...

Next up was the man himself. I still get butterflies in my stomach when I see Mickey. I may as well been Tom Cruise. I just love that mouse...

Brendan, not so sure...

Then came Minnie. How cute is this picture...

Now it was Donald's turn. Brendan gave him a high five...

Our waitress then brought a cupcake out for Aubrey with a candle in it. Minnie helped us sing Happy Birthday. Pluto came back by to wish Aubrey a Happy Birthday...

Then it was time for the napkin dance. Second line anyone???

Dinner was over and I was beyond exhausted, mentally and physically. Brendan was ready to go too. He had enough of this noise!

And then came the melt down. Time to go. See ya Mickey!

We really did have an awesome time but it was hard. I will definitely do this dinner again though. And that sundae bar. Ymmmmmmo.

Well, we knew that the bus ride would be not so enjoyable given the mood that Brendan was in. He was so tired and cranky. We decided not to chance it and took the monorail over to Epcot and walked back to the resort. The kids fell asleep in the stroller so Jason and I were able to take our time walking through the countries. We had a drink here and a snack there. It was a nice ending to our nice day.

Once we got up to the room, Aubrey had woken up. It was a good thing because I needed to wash her hair because the next day was her birthday and the plan was to get her first haircut at the Harmony Barber shop on Main Street in MK. Thankfully, she cooperated and it went smoothly. We put the kids down withouth any trouble. It was now time for us to decorate the room with birthday decorations. We hung streamers and balloons. It was precious. For some reason that is very upsetting to me, I cannot find any pictures of these decorations even though I KNOW that I took them. I have no idea what happend. I guess they got deleted some kind of way. Oh well.

Time for bed for me and Jason. We slept so good this night. In fact, the maid service had come that day and changed our linens. Look what we found on our pillows...

Just like in the movies. So after my chocolate night cap, I was off to dream land.

Up next, Aubrey's birthday in the Magic Kingdom!

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Yay!!! An update!

Wow...your dining room looks awesome! It looked good with the beige but WOW! with the red! And I love the cabinets and the doors....

I have to admit I'm surprised there's no ceiling fan in that room. I swear I have never seen so many ceiling fans in one area than when I was in Louisiana! And they kept making me drowsy. Hypnotic shadows.....

You got some great pictures at Chef Mickeys. I know a lot of people don't like it there but I think it's fun. Although....I've never gone with kids.

Oh....and about that great deal for WDW....my only available dates to go are blacked out!

 

[coteau_chick]

Great update. The pictures were really cute. I love the one of Aubrey blowing out her candel and her and mini. I love the one with Brendan covering his ears. So far my favorite is still the ones with them in the stroller eating mickey bars covered in chocolate. Sorry about your room decorations pictures. I hope you find them.

I went back to the doctor yesterday because I still was having trouble breathing. I have been to the doctor four times in three weeks. I went to the doctor Friday and the doctor did a lung test on me and said that I have the lungs of a 73 year old. I freaked out. He said for me to go to the lung doctor. I went to the lung doctor Monday morning I just walked in and begged for an appointment. I couldn't breathe and they fit me in. It turns out that I didn't have bronchitis I have asthama. He gave me all kind of medicine and it is already helping. I hope I am back to normal soon.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Ohhhhhhh DisneyTiger....where ARE you?!?

I was thinking about you this morning when I woke up to a text message from my friend saying the Tigers won.

Please come back soon!

 

[coteau_chick]

We miss you. I hope everything is ok.

 

[DisneyTiger]

Great update. The pictures were really cute. I love the one of Aubrey blowing out her candel and her and mini. I love the one with Brendan covering his ears. So far my favorite is still the ones with them in the stroller eating mickey bars covered in chocolate. Sorry about your room decorations pictures. I hope you find them.

I went back to the doctor yesterday because I still was having trouble breathing. I have been to the doctor four times in three weeks. I went to the doctor Friday and the doctor did a lung test on me and said that I have the lungs of a 73 year old. I freaked out. He said for me to go to the lung doctor. I went to the lung doctor Monday morning I just walked in and begged for an appointment. I couldn't breathe and they fit me in. It turns out that I didn't have bronchitis I have asthama. He gave me all kind of medicine and it is already helping. I hope I am back to normal soon.

Hi Laura,

So sorry I've been missing lately. Everything is fine. I've just been super busy. You know how it goes! So asthma??? Wow, have you ever had any other symptoms? Is asthma something that can develop over time? That's scary but I'm sooooo glad you have it under control and finally know what's going on with you! How are you feeling since you've started the meds? I hope better.

Thanks for the comments on the pictures. Yes, the ice cream pic is my favorite from the trip. I have it framed in my room. I still have no idea where the room decorations pics are. I'm not going to think about it too much because if I do then I will get upset

Ohhhhhhh DisneyTiger....where ARE you?!?

I was thinking about you this morning when I woke up to a text message from my friend saying the Tigers won.

Please come back soon!

Hi, I am here. Just a really bad poster these days. Can you ever forgive me???? I promise I will try and do better. Really, I am always thinking about my friends here on the DIS and my report, but it's just getting harder and harder to sit down in front of the computer and post

Yeah, what a game for LSU. Sad really. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm glad we won. But it was way too hard for them to beat Troy State!!!!! Next week is Ole Miss and I plan on going to this game. We'll see what happens. Ok, off to post!

 

[DisneyTiger]

Hi everyone. Let me first say THANK YOU to all of you for sticking with me and reading along even though my posts have been few and far between lately! I love y'all and appreciate you checking on me!

We've had yet another busy weekend around here. Saturday, my brother came over to install a new kitchen sink and faucet for me. Easy enough right? Nope, it ended up taking 7 hours because he had to move some pipes around to fit the garbage disposal! I did end up getting a beautiful new sink though. Gotta love old houses! Then, yesterday, I decided to build a fire pit in our back yard. I have a big back yard and there is a small area that has concrete. I thought it would be nice to have a place to sit around and roast marshmallows. Here's a pic of me hard at work. Just call me Bob Vila!

And the finished product...

A bunch of my nieces and nephews came over and we had a weenie roast and made smores. It was so much fun!

Ok, on to Disney...

So I last left you the night before Aubrey's actual birthday. We all slept really well and we needed it. The plan was to wake up and actually make it to MK for rope drop, then head straight over to the barber shop to get Aubrey's first haircut. Everyone woke up early and we sang happy birthday to Aubrey. She loved the decorations. She sure felt like a princess. Before our trip, I had been collecting birthday cards with characters on them. I had signed each card as the character and planned on planting them around our hotel room and the park on her birthday and letting her find them. Here's the first one.

Well, I knew it would be her first stop of the day so why not! Here's another one on the balcony...

After opening a few presents and her cards, it was time to get dressed and out the door. We hopped the bus with plenty of time to spare and were on our way to rope drop!

MK was all decorated for Halloween and these pumpkins were just too cute.

Then it was time for the show...

Here's a pic of the kids' reactions to the show. I have to say, they liked it but it wasn't this over the top, tear inducing magical moment. They were slightly amused. This made me feel much better about missing the show that day earlier in our trip. Oh well, they did like it though..

Alright, the show was over and it was time to head to the barber shop. I had heard from many people to get there early because the line forms quickly. For those of you who don't know where the barber shop is, it's straight ahead as you walk in the left gates. I had never seen it either so we had to find it. I saw the red and white barber pole and made a b-line for the front door. Can you believe that there were 3 people in front of us making a b-line also! The barber shop is located right next to the barn thing where the horses and trollies come out. I had never noticed this either but here they are getting started for the day...

Pretty cool. What was not cool was the fact that we had to wait to get her hair cut. There are only 2 chairs in the barber shop and were both filled with another person in front of us waiting. Brendan was not doing good with this so Jason had to take him walking. Aubrey was very restless too and was acting up. I had no idea how I was going to do this by myself. She had already started saying that she didn't want to get her hair cut. Uhhhhh, I really had my heart set on getting her first hair cut here so I was hoping it would all work out. After waiting a good 20 minutes it was finally our turn. Aubrey was very shy at first but Mrs. Diane was great with her. She was obviously used to this and knew exactly what to do. She covered Aubrey's legs with stickers and promised her pixie dust when she was done.

Time for your "First Haircut" ears...

And of course, the pixie dust!

I only had her take off about an inch just because Aubrey's hair is so pretty. It had never been trimmed and looked fine. She really didn't need a hair cut but I thought it would be a nice memory for her to have it done here first! It's really cute how they do it. Mrs. Diane wrapped up her hair for me to take and she got her ears along with a certificate saying "I got my first haircut at the Magic Kingdom" or something like that. All for $15! Much better bargain than my first plan of taking her to BBB. That will have to wait until she's older.

After the haircut, we met back up with daddy and headed over to Fantasyland. We didn't get a chance to ride Dumbo on our first day so that's where we were headed. Here are a few pics waiting in line...

And Aubrey on the ride. Look at that smile!

From here, we headed over to tomorrowland to ride Buzz. Jason and I also took advantage of parent swap and rope space mountain. I just love this ride. I could do it over and over. By this time, it was getting pretty cloudy and started to drizzle. I had to pull out the stroller cover and shrink wrap the kids...

The weather was dreary and the kids were hungry and tired. It was time to head back to the resort. I was determined to eat at Beaches n' Cream this trip so that's where we were going for lunch. We decided to take the monorail to Epcot and cut through to Beach Club. Here are a few shots on the way...

What a fun morning for our birthday girl. Everything worked out like it was suppsed to so I was thrilled.

Up next, Beaches n' Cream and dinner at 1900 Park Fare!

 

[coteau_chick]

LOL at the shrink wrapped kids again.
I love your fire pit. I bet it was fun to roast marshmallows. I want a fire pit too. We lit our fireplace for the first time of this season saturday. I to sit around a fire. We camp alot and I love campfires too.

I am not cutting Grace's hair until we go back to Disney World. I want to get it done at MK. I just loved this update. You were so creative with the cards from the characters. I would love to go for one of my kids b-day one year. I don't know if we will ever be able to because Brennan and Courtney's b-days are in Sept. and Oct. (hurricane season). No way Faron can go far away from the store he manages during hurricane season. Grace's b-day is in June. I think it would be too busy and hot to go in June. The only way I would go in June is if we went in the camper and stayed for two weeks. We could go back to the camper and swim when it got crowded and hot and we would not have to cram everything in one day. We could spread out what we wanted to do over the time we would be there. We could also spend some time relaxing at the campground and just camping. I love to camp and what better place to camp than Disney World.

I am feeling soooooooooooooooo much better. I don't know where this asthama came from. I think it has something to do with when I painted the utility room. I got sick right after that.

I have subscribed to the disboutiquers thread. Have you ever looked over there? You should check it out just to see the beautiful custom outfits they make for their kids. I had to take out my sewing machine. I am going to try to make some things for Grace. I really want to learn how to do the character applique dresses like the other ladies make. You should see them. I might have to go buy a new sewing machine and take a class.

 

[coteau_chick]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=28751201#post28751201

Here is a link to the disboutique thread. Scroll down to the Daisy Duck dress. I just love this dress. I want to make one. I am searching for the pattern today. I would like to make a minnie mouse one too and nemo. I just wanted to show you what I was talking about.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Ooooh....a fire pit! Okay I really want a yard. My current house wish list now has WASHER and DRYER!!, closet/storage space, and a YARD! I have not had a smore in the longest time!

Thanks for the update! I was getting a bit worried about you!

 

[DisneyTiger]

LOL at the shrink wrapped kids again.
I love your fire pit. I bet it was fun to roast marshmallows. I want a fire pit too. We lit our fireplace for the first time of this season saturday. I to sit around a fire. We camp alot and I love campfires too.

I am not cutting Grace's hair until we go back to Disney World. I want to get it done at MK. I just loved this update. You were so creative with the cards from the characters. I would love to go for one of my kids b-day one year. I don't know if we will ever be able to because Brennan and Courtney's b-days are in Sept. and Oct. (hurricane season). No way Faron can go far away from the store he manages during hurricane season. Grace's b-day is in June. I think it would be too busy and hot to go in June. The only way I would go in June is if we went in the camper and stayed for two weeks. We could go back to the camper and swim when it got crowded and hot and we would not have to cram everything in one day. We could spread out what we wanted to do over the time we would be there. We could also spend some time relaxing at the campground and just camping. I love to camp and what better place to camp than Disney World.

I am feeling soooooooooooooooo much better. I don't know where this asthama came from. I think it has something to do with when I painted the utility room. I got sick right after that.

I have subscribed to the disboutiquers thread. Have you ever looked over there? You should check it out just to see the beautiful custom outfits they make for their kids. I had to take out my sewing machine. I am going to try to make some things for Grace. I really want to learn how to do the character applique dresses like the other ladies make. You should see them. I might have to go buy a new sewing machine and take a class.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=28751201#post28751201

Here is a link to the disboutique thread. Scroll down to the Daisy Duck dress. I just love this dress. I want to make one. I am searching for the pattern today. I would like to make a minnie mouse one too and nemo. I just wanted to show you what I was talking about.

The fire pit did turn out nice. It's fun to go sit out there especially since it's actually been chilly outside!

Birthdays in Disney are wonderful. I agree about having to go for a long time if you went in June. I cannot even imagine what the crowds would be like. I am very spoiled and we've only been during slow seasons. I don't know what we will do when the kids are in school. Scheduling trips around them will not be fun. I do have to say that I will not hesitate to pull them out for a Disney trip!

I checked out that thread. The Daisy dress is precious. I just wish I was that talented. I would love to teach myself how to sew. I want to learn how to embroider. Thanks for sharing that!

Ooooh....a fire pit! Okay I really want a yard. My current house wish list now has WASHER and DRYER!!, closet/storage space, and a YARD! I have not had a smore in the longest time!

Thanks for the update! I was getting a bit worried about you!

So, are you house hunting? I love real estate. I actually was studying to get my license when I was pregnant with Aubrey but I never finished Oh well. It's still a hobby. Our first house had a tiny yard. The yard at this house is what sold me. It's a half acre lot! We have two golden retrievers so they love it! It's nice for the kids too. We actually added on 1000 square feet for my mom to live in and we still have a ton of yard left. Sorry, don't mean to rub it in

The smores were delish. I want one right now!

 

[DisneyTiger]

On the way back to the resort, Brendan fell asleep. It was late for lunch and he was exhausted. We still wanted to eat at Beaches n' Cream so we asked if we could take the stroller in so he could sleep next to the table. This is a very small place but we managed to get the double wide in Aubrey was in rare form. She was not listening at all and being ugly to the waitress. She had lots of patience with her and gave her a balloon to make her happy. It worked for a few minutes but Aubrey preferred crawling on the bar stools to entertain herself. We let her do it because everyone thought it was cute and I didn't feel like hearing her pitch a fit. I don't usually give into her but this time, I caved!

Here is Brendan sound asleep in the stroller. My baby boy. He's so good.

Jason ordered a double cheeseburger, I got the roast beef sandwich, and Aubrey had a mini cheeseburger. The food was alright, nothing to write home about at all. The dessert, on the other hand, was amazing. On the dining plan, we were able to get an entree and a dessert. I don't really remember what Jason got but I got this chocolate peanut butter icecream sundae bowl of goodness. It was sooooooo good. We actually took it up to our room because Aubrey was just too restless. Both of the kids were asleep and Jason was resting on the couch. Time for mom to go shopping!!!! Yay, my favorite part of the day! Today, I decided to head to downtown Disney to do some real shopping. We get a Mickey ornament on every trip and I wanted to get some personalized. I love going around the World on my own. I always thought it would be crazy to do a solo trip but now I see why people do it. I could definitely see myself doing Disney solo one day!

Here's a shot of the pirate outside of World Of Disney...

Everything was decorated for Halloween. This was in the entrance way. It looked way scarier in real life...

I bought a bunch of cute things here. A pewter Mickey trivet, a coffee scoop, some picture frames, and a scrapbook. Sadly, the scrapbook is still in the bag. I have not gotten around to scrapping anything!

Here is the trivit and coffee scoop. I love these!

Here are the ornaments. Notice on the red one how it says "First Family Trip". It came out really cute...

As much as I didn't want to, it was time for me to go back to the hotel and see if everyone was awake. We had reservations for 1900 Park Fare later that night. It was going to be Aubrey's birthday dinner and I couldn't wait. I was really looking forward to this one.

I had fully intended on posting through the dinner that night, but Brendan has woken up early from his nap. I need to go get him. I will finish this up later, promise

 

[JOCELYNM]

I am enjoying reading about your trip!! I ave been reading these boards since 1998 and I have NEVER writeen a trip report. I probably should, huh? I have many stories to tell!

I am with you, live, eat, and breath Disney! I look so forward to my trips that sometimes...I don't want to go b/c I get so sad to come home, i's weird...I go through this depression thing, well not really depression, I just pout allot and my DH gets really annoyed with me and doesn't understand. He says, "It's not like your'e never going back, get over it and grow up!!" Meanie

Someday I'll get a trip report in...
I get confused though, b/c some peoples trip reports are in bits and pieces, I wish there was a way to read an entire trip report in one place....is there?

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

The fire pit did turn out nice. It's fun to go sit out there especially since it's actually been chilly outside!

So, are you house hunting? I love real estate. I actually was studying to get my license when I was pregnant with Aubrey but I never finished Oh well. It's still a hobby. Our first house had a tiny yard. The yard at this house is what sold me. It's a half acre lot! We have two golden retrievers so they love it! It's nice for the kids too. We actually added on 1000 square feet for my mom to live in and we still have a ton of yard left. Sorry, don't mean to rub it in

From weather.com "Right now for Bronx, NY: 35*F, Feels like 26*F" Winds 15 mph, gusting to 20. Yeah and I forgot my scarf and mittens today...and it's only NOVEMBER. I don't think an outdoor fire pit would help much in this situation. Right now for Baton Rouge, LA: 61*F, Feels like 61*F. Don't rub WHAT in?!?!?

We are planning to move, but not until this summer or even 2010. The cost of living here is just so ridiculously high that pigs would fly before we could afford a "normal" house and a car in this area. That, and I enjoy teaching but not necessarily here. Funny thing is, I told my friend I might be moving and she was like "Oh! My friend is a realtor! You should get to know her!" I said "oh really...where is she?" (cuz you know, location is kinda important when it comes to realtors) My friend: "Oh, she's in Baton Rouge, Louisiana."

I do love looking at house plans and dreaming though. And house ad descriptions can be hilarious! "Cozy loft-style house in up and coming neighborhood is ready to be completed with ALL NEW appliances of your choice!" (Read: tiny house with no walls in bad area has no fridge, stove, or bathroom fixtures!)

 

[DisneyTiger]

Look at me posting three times in two days! The kids are occupied and playing quietly so I thought I would try to squeeze in another post!

Ok, so I made it back to our room and everyone was up and dressed. It was still pretty early and we had some time to kill before dinner so we decided to head down to the beach for some play time. When we got there, Aubrey found another birthday card in the bushes!

Here are some cute pics of the kids playing in the sand...

We noticed a little play area over by SAB. They loved this! Here's Aubrey coming down the slide...

Another shot of SAB. I just love this pool.

The play area was right next to the baby pool and Aubrey kept getting closer and closer until...

Why not! It was her birthday after all!

I think Jason and I managed to get a drink at Hurricane Hannah's while the kids were playing but then it was time to head up stairs and get ready for dinner. Aubrey wanted to wear her Cinderelly dress. I KNEW for a fact that she would not want to wear it all night so I made sure to pack a change of clothes. Since Aubrey was getting all dressed up, I decided to put some nice clothes on Brendan too. Jason and I also dressed up a bit. And by dressed up, I mean jeans and a nice shirt. This is dressing up at Disney. It's a step up from shorts and a t-shirt! Here's Brendan in his big boy outfit!

We had really had enough of the bus so we decided to splurge and take a cab to the GF. It was so worth the $15 can I tell you?! There was a cab waiting for us in front of the resort. The kids piled in and we were ready to go!

A few minutes later, we arrived at the GF and checked in at 1900 Park Fare. I checked at the counter and reminded the CM that I had ordered a special dessert for Aubrey's birthday. She assured me it would be taken care of. This was another suprise that I was looking forward to. We had a small wait but there was a TV with cartoons playing so the kids sat quietly and watched them. That was nice! This hotel is so foo foo, for lack of a better word. In a good way though. It's beautiful. I just don't feel comfortable letting my kids run wild in the lobby since it's so nice! Soon, we were taken back to our table. This restaurant is so pretty, and HUGE! We were seated at a table that had two chairs on one side and a bench on the other. I was so excited about this dinner for a few reasons. I had heard the food was great and I couldn't wait to try the strawberry soup. It sounded so interesting! I also couldn't wait to see all of the characters from Cinderella and how they interacted with each other. I heard that the step sisters were really funny. Well, I can tell you one thing, they definitely stay in character!

Drusilla was the first to come out. She was so good. Do you know how whiney her voice is in the movie? Well, this girl had it down. She was hysterical. But I do have to say that they push it a bit with the kids. She came to our table and instead of oooh and ahhhing over the kids, she made some silly comments about them. She asked if Brendan was in a halloween costume because he was dressed like a boy genious. He did not like her. This picture speaks for itself..

Poor baby. I mean, look at her face! She looks just like the cartoon! I don't have a pic of Anestasia. I guess she didn't cause too much of a fuss. Then it was time for the evil step mother, Lady Tremaine, to come out. Man, this woman was evil. She was making her way to our table and the little girl next to us got out of her chair and went up to her to say hello. Lady Tremaine had not yet made it to her table and yelled at the little girl to get back in her seat and wait her turn. This poor baby girl, maybe 4 or 5, was trying so hard to hold back the tears. She just couldn't do it and started crying hysterically. This upset Brendan and made him start crying too! Lady Tremaine heard him crying and turned to him and yelled "No Crying!!!!!". Let me just tell you, I have never seen him stop crying so quickly in his life! Here's his reaction to her...

This picture really doesn't do it justice but I am telling you, his head whipped around so fast when she yelled at him. And he didn't make another peep while she was around. Here they are together...

Yeah, he's terrified! Now, Aubrey is extremely protective of her baby brother and did not like it at all when Lady Tremaine yelled at him. She started crying too. By this time, Lady Tremaine had made her way down to the other tables, leaving 2 more crying girls in her path! I thought this was a bit much. These girls were really hurt and upset. But guess who came out to save the day???? Cindy herself. Unfortunately, Aubrey was too upset to really enjoy the moment. I snapped a picture but you can see what kind of mood she was in by this point...

Prince Charming came out after Cinderella and came by to say hi. Here are my two princes...

By this time, we had all eaten and the food was incredible. I have done a lot of meals at Disney and I have to say that this was one of the best, food wise that is. My favorite buffet is Boma but this one came in a close second. It was now time for dessert and our waiter brought out Aubrey's suprise. Weeks before our trip, I had called in an order for the white chocolate glass slipper dessert. It was filled with creme fraiche and also came with chocolate mousse. It was DELICIOUS!!! The waiter was very proud of it and made sure that I took a picture before we dug in...

Aubrey's face lit up when it came out. She loved it. I was worried that she wouldn't even care but she really got a kick out of it. They also brought her a crown and sang her happy birthday. It was a very special moment for her.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that 2 minutes after we sat down at our table, Aubrey wanted to take her dress off. Good thing I brought an extra outfit!

It was a great dinner, minus the tears. I would do it again in a heartbeat but would maybe wait until the kids were a bit older so they could understand that it wasn't real.

We took the monorail back to Epcot and walked back to the resort. Before we had left our room, I put a present out on Aubrey's bed "from Mickey". She was so excited to see this when we got back.

Magically, Mickey knew exactly what Aubrey wanted.... Belle Flip Flops! Aubrey was so excited...

She also got a mermaid Barbi and insisted on taking a bath with her right then and there. After her bath, she actually asked to go to bed. This NEVER happens! She was exhausted!

And with that, Aubrey's birthday was over. We all went to bed and got some rest for the next day.

 

[coteau_chick]

I would love to go to down town disney by myself. Your so lucky. I bet it was relaxing. I love to shop. I would also like to do a solo trip one day. I am glad you took the shrink wrap off Brendan for his nap. I don't think I want to go to that character dinner until Grace is older. I do think it would be funny to take Courtney there. She is old enough to think it is funny.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I thought I replied to this but I guess not?

I love Beaches and Cream and I love that coffee scoop you got. I go to Beaches and Cream every trip. I always get a milkshake.

Those stepsisters do look evil. I love the cards you put all over the place for Aubrey. What a fun idea. You really are very creative!

Speaking of coffee...was it this thread that I read where you found individual coffee filters with coffee for hotel coffee pots? That stuff they try to pass off as coffee in the hotel rooms is a disgrace, but I can't find coffee that is sold in a packet like the hotel filter things. I did find coffee that was in a teabag-like filter. I may end up having to take normal filters and some pre-measured coffee in ziplock bags with me. Like my coffee at home isn't the greatest (it's Maxwell House) but it's better than that Nescafe or that no-name stuff in the rooms.