Two Graduations, the world and a DISmeet

[dgbg100106]

MIL and Step-FIL were already at the Parks, they arrived the day before and were staying at Shades of Green.

MIL has a Military ID and she had to activate the park passes for the kids and they were at EPCOT already, so we asked them to meet us at the International Gateway, you would have thought that we were asking for the world to be delivered. They did not want to meet us over there, they wanted to meet at the front entrance of EPCOT.

Well lets see we are at Boardwalk, so that would require us to ride the bus to another resort outside of the EPCOT resort area, and then return on a bus bound for EPCOT b/c DS did not have a park pass (again the reason we needed her in the first place).

We just missed the bus and we are under a time constraint, MIL had lunch reservations at 11:30 that she did not tell me about, and she only made for her and Step-FIL, after I made reservations for everyone.....

Sorry need to focus....

Finally we convince her to meet us at the International Gateway and finally they agreed. Long story short, we got the passes activated.

Now we all go into EPCOT, we decided to see if the Coral Reef can take us early, our ressie was for 2pm.

They will take us now... Yeah....

DH and I share the Lobster Bisque, and then I have the Grilled Mahi Mahi
with Rock Shrimp, Hearts of Palm, Jasmine Rice, Cilantro, and a Coconut-Lime Sauce. This was very good..... I really liked it.
DH and DS both had the Lobster Ravioli with Rock Shrimp, fresh Tarragon, and Lobster Cream

The tarragon in the ravioli was very over powering and almost had a licorice taste to it...it was very off putting to me, I did not care for it.

 

[franandaj]

OMG! I can't believe they wanted you to go to the front of EPCOT from the Boardwalk!

OK, if this is how it starts....I can see why you are happy to go with just the Hubby!

Your lunch at Coral Reef looked great, it wasn't nearly that good when I ate there last!

 

[3Leafs]

Wow your Mahi Mahi looked like my Mahi Mahi...

 

[dgbg100106]

OMG! I can't believe they wanted you to go to the front of EPCOT from the Boardwalk!

OK, if this is how it starts....I can see why you are happy to go with just the Hubby!

Your lunch at Coral Reef looked great, it wasn't nearly that good when I ate there last!

When were you there last? This was my first time, so I have nothing to compare too....

 

[Piglets Mommy]

The Mahi looks yummy. Can't wait to read more!

 

[franandaj]

When were you there last? This was my first time, so I have nothing to compare too....

We ate there in January of 2007 and it was GREAT! In January 2010 we went back with my parents and it wasn't nearly as good. Here is a link to the meal we had then.

Coral Reef Jan 2010

I don't know if it was a Winter menu, but everything was just so heavy, and the sauces masked the flavors of the seafood.

 

[dgbg100106]

After we left Coral Reef, we were walking back towards Mouse Gears... really the guys were walking back towards test track and I was going to Mouse Gears to look for my purse!

And being the sweet wonderful person I was, I convinced DS to go to Club Cool and try the Beverly..... It is a really cool Italian version of Coke...

I could not get a great picture of his face when he tried it, but I got an ear full afterwards....

The guys go off to ride and I got to look...

I did not find the perfect placement so I left empty handed....

 

[dgbg100106]

We are walking back to the room to unpack and get the rental car and left DS swim or explore, what ever he wants to do...

Right at the entrance to the world showcase is a really cool leftover from the flower and garden show...

We are right at the gateway and I have detour to France for a orange slushie... I share with DS since he has never had one...

DH tells me that he is positive that the rental car place is at the Swan and we head in that direction. I had stayed at the Swan back in 91 but I did not remember much from those days, but inside the the fountain was beautiful...

Guess what there is no rental car desk here, it is in the Dolphin, oh well, it is only 100 degrees outside, what is another couple hundred steps..... At this point, I think I am melting into the sidewalk.

I am soooo not used to this.

Dolphin fountain looks pretty too so I got a picture of it.

The rental car process is really very easy, we found the counter in the guest relations area on the second floor and no one was waiting, so easy enough, Just walk outside and had "this" to the valet and they will bring the car around....

We walk outside had "this" over and they are gone to get the car, it shows up, a 2011 Maxima, the valet says do you know how to turn the car on? DH "yeah, I have driven a few time". He gets in and the valet walks off and DH can't start the car.... It is a push button start, with no keys You have to just be close with the fob thingy, foot on break, and push the start button.... But DH had to ask the valet.....

As we are leaving, we decide to go to Walmart and pick up some snacks and breakfast items.... One of the best decisions we made the whole trip.

Now back getting ready for graduation.

We have MIL and StepFIL meet us at our resort and we all ride over to the graduation together.

The skies are getting dark and ominous, but there is a rainbow....

The valedictorian rode in a carriage to the stage

During this 4 hour event... yes I said 4 hour event, the power went out 3 different times and half the people never heard the kids names, because the microphone did not work. Luck for us by the time the "G's" came around the mic was working again.

Long day for sure for us... We left and went back to the resort and called it a night at 11:30 PM..... Ughhhh

 

[dgbg100106]

Saturday morning here we come....


Everyone is up and semi awake at 7:00am, DH and DS head off to pick up DD and bring her back to the resort so we can head off to the parks.

DS and DD and head off to AK with Grandma and Monty.

We decided to go to DTD and will meet up with them later.

First stop Team Mickey... This is the rawlings store and we are going to get a bat for DH.... First we have to study each one to decide which one we want...

Now the design is completed and approved by DH...

They use a laser to cut the design into the bat, which is very cool...

Dh is very happy and for $10 they will ship it right to you...This part made my day.

 

[dgbg100106]

Next stop World of Disney...

And after much help from the CM and searching for the right placement, I found my messenger bag, the Dooney and Bourke 40th Anniversary edition.

Now shopping is complete! We can meet everyone at AK for lunch.

We return the car, and it was super easy, filled up at the Hess station right in from of the Boardwalk and dropped the car off at the Dolphin, walked to our resort, dropped off packages and caught the bus to AK.

It is so hot, everyone is complaining and does not want to be in the heat, that is all I hear from the kids and from MIL.

We end up eating at Pizzafari and cooling off, MIL and Monty went to Lion King and would call us later.

After they get out of Lion King, they call alright, after they are on the bus leaving AK, don't mind us waiting for you in the heat in AK, please just go ahead, we will meet up later.


We decide to leave go back to the room and cool off

 

[dgbg100106]

We did not make it back to the resort, the kids wanted to go back to DTD, and T was going to be there, so it worked out....

We head to DTD and my first stop is Trend-D while DS is in Team Mickey looking for a hat, I told him to bring but, what do I know.... Now his head is burned and needs a hat.

I got this really cute silver hidden mickey necklace, i will put a photo here later....(if I remember)

We meet up with T and got to meet the family. The kids are so cute, T you have a beautiful family.

We have to head back to the resort and get ready for dinner, tonight is celebration for graduation at Jiko...

 

[Piglets Mommy]

Those bats are really cool! I definately have to get one of those for Chris when we are there. He will love designing that. Good to know they will ship it home, too

Glad you got to meet T!

Hope the in-laws get easier to handle later in the trip!

 

[dgbg100106]

Those bats are really cool! I definately have to get one of those for Chris when we are there. He will love designing that. Good to know they will ship it home, too

Glad you got to meet T!

Hope the in-laws get easier to handle later in the trip!

The bat turned out better than we ever thought. My only hint would be to bring what ever image you wanted on the bat, as a scanable image. They have no access to the internet or email or USB drives, so they scan everything in. So make sure it is a sharp clear image with nothing else around and it is super easy and quick.

 

[dgbg100106]

We got ready and headed to Animal Kingdom Lodge, Jambo House for dinner at Jiko, Since we were early I asked if could sit at the "Cooking Place" We had 6 people there are they were no sure if we could get every seat at once but they were going to try.....

Since we had extra time, we went to the Mara to get some ZD's....

and took some photos along the way.

BTW DH hates this picture, he said he looks stupid, so don't tell him I put it in here.

 

[dgbg100106]

We were talking to the appetizer chefs cooking everything there at the cooking place and we were asking about the different salads, we could not decide on the Jiko Salad or the Ahi Salad.
She made us a small Jiko salad for us to try (I forgot to take a picture of it)

We picked the Ahi salad. The Peppadew vinaigrette was amazing, the chefs were giving David a hard time for using his fork to scrape the plate, so she made him another salad...

We also ordered the Merquez Sausage flat bread.

The flat bread was so good, all of us really enjoyed it.

For entree I ordered the Seared Duck Breast, let me tell you this was so amazing and wonderful,

David and Annelise ordered the Grilled Marinated Lamb Loin

They both ate all of it and said it was great.

Dave ordered the Oak Grilled Filet Mignon and Monty and Evelyn shared the beef short ribs.

Everyone thought the food was amazing and enjoyed everything we ate. If anything we were tired, our dinner service was extremely slow. It took 3 hours for us to get our food and get our check. It took 35 minutes after we finished to get our check.

All of the chefs signed a card for both Dave and Annelise and they got some dessert to enjoy, we got the cheesecake to go and it was good but nothing special.

Now back to the Boardwalk to rest, we have another hot day tomorrow...

 

[dgbg100106]

Up and ready for the day, it is already way too hot.

MIL and Step FIL have left WDW. They are flying back to Texas today and Annelise is at home with her friends so it is DH and DS with me today.

We decide to go to DHS today so we walk over to the boats leaving from Boardwalk...

First it is just way to hot to breathe. We got to Tower of Terror and pick up a fast pass and then we head for Rock n Rollercoaster, we get in the single rider line and we are in, only took 25 minutes. We come out and jump the line again, this time about 35 minutes later. It still not time for the ToT fastpass so we go looking for something to eat and for the Star Wars Passholder pin.

We make it back to ToT and Dave thinks this is the best ride so far.

We left there to take DS (remember this is his 1st trip to the World) to Magic Kingdom via a bus. He wanted to see the Castle.

We walked up main street and then over to Buzz light year.... My men keep telling me how they were going to beat each other in the game, of course they never felt I was a threat....

Well mama beat the pants off both the guys.... Me 998,000, DH 157,000, and DS 80,000

That is when the excuses started, they were driving, they were trying to steering blah blah blah.....

 

[dgbg100106]

We decided to have dinner at EPCOT, so we take a bus back to Boardwalk, walk through the International Gateway, and every place we go the lines are way too long, and they have stopped taking reservations.

We had reservations at the Yatchmans Steakhouse, but the guys did not want another heavy meal.

So here we are running around EPCOT trying to find something....

We end up seeing the top three finalist from American Idol.

dinner was at the counter service restaurant across from Mexico, I can't remember the name of the place......

Then back to the resort, to do laundry and get everything packed up.

 

[dgbg100106]

last morning boo hoo...

We are having breakfast at Kouzzina and we meet T, Kristi and Rick there. I even got the waitress to seat us in the back at a table next to them.

It was great to finally meet everyone!

The Sangria was wonderful, I know T did not like it, but DH and I drank a pitcher by ourselves, it was good....

DS had the waffles

DH and I both ordered the stack.

It is another HOT day in Orlando, this is why we come in the fall, not in the summer....

The guys head to Mission Space and Test Track and I go backto the room and pack everything up and hand it over to Bell Services.

I meet them at Test Track, the crowds and in full force today, for Memorial Day.

so for lunch we decide to try and see if we can get into Via Napoli.

The pizza was huge, I mean so large that three grown adults could not finish it. It was very good and I would so eat there again.

From here we go back to the Boardwalk and wait for DME, and then on to the MCO.....

 

[franandaj]

Short trip, but you packed in a lot! Thanks for showing the menu for Via Napoli. I would like to try it on my next trip, but I think it will have to wait until next May. I'm glad you fit in a short trip and got to take DS for his first trip. Luckily your F&W trip is just you and your DH right?

Thanks for taking the time to report on the trip and I enjoyed the journey along the way!

 

[dgbg100106]

Short trip, but you packed in a lot! Thanks for showing the menu for Via Napoli. I would like to try it on my next trip, but I think it will have to wait until next May. I'm glad you fit in a short trip and got to take DS for his first trip. Luckily your F&W trip is just you and your DH right?

Thanks for taking the time to report on the trip and I enjoyed the journey along the way!

We were busy from the time we landed until we were leaving. I had to go back to work to get some relaxation.


We have another couple going with us to F&W, but hopefully they will be more fun.