Welcome to the Jungle........Pool! Updated 7/7 pages 14 & 15

[MRYPPNS]

Late to the game!! But definitely glad I'm here! Going back to read!!!! YAY!!!

Hi Jen! You didn't miss much!

 

[MRYPPNS]

Well I should have known better….

…..when I couldn’t keep up with my PTR for this trip I should have known that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with this TR. I feel really bad about it too. I love to share my vacations to Disney with all of you just as I love reading about my DIS friend’s trips.

A couple weeks after the trip everyone in my family got sick…and it is still lingering in the form of runny noses and coughing to this day. Seems that there is a virus that hit this area and it lasts 6-8 weeks! Plus spring has been delayed in our neck of the woods. It’s been a l-o-n-g winter.

The heart of the matter is that I just don’t have time to write. I’m terribly slow at it to begin with and the constant interruptions from the kids make it impossible. I’m attempting this today because its school vacation week and we didn’t have to drive out of town for therapy today (like we normally do 3x week.) When posting to your own TR seems like a chore you know it’s time to log off.

But then I thought on it some more. When other DISers can’t finish a report (or sometimes they don’t even start one) I always think that it would be nice to just see their pictures. So that’s what I’ve decided to do….show you my vacation pictures with as much narrative as I can. My goal will be to get it done by next Monday night. And if you have any questions about my trip or tips or whatnot throw it out there in a comment, I’ll do my best to reply with more information.

So let the pictures begin!

Ragland Road Monday 2/28 after our first visit to Typhoon Lagoon

Liam did awesome at this dinner…

It was Danica that got antsy just as dessert was served.

Scallop forks were delish!

I had the Serious Sirloin. The smell of this dish was out of this world!

DH had Kevin’s ham (the kids shared a kid size chicken and fries)

Ger’s bread pudding, good (still like ‘Ohana’s better)

My birthday dinner at Cape May.

The kids ate so much at this meal! Danica had corn on the cob for the first time. Liam watched OSO on the iPod for most of the meal which made for a good dining experience for the rest of us (note to Kathy---remind me I have a book story about this meal)

Nachos in Mexico….awesome. Chicken tacos in back (not as good as in January when I had them…too spicy this time)

Caramel marshmallow thing from Germany….never eat the whole thing….wasn’t very good.

Zebra cupcake from the bakery in Africa at AK…delish! (brownie in back)

Elephant cupcake from same bakery (eaten at the resort….ask for a plastic beer cup and a paper bag…you can package it up that way to transport it) This cupcake is amazing….too bad that I figured out that I’m allergic to it…must be grounded tree nuts in the filling.

My $52 birthday cake from the Boardwalk Bakery. It was so dry that we hardly ate any of it. I was majorly disappointed. I should have called to complain but I didn’t. Next time I’ll just get a $10 cake from Winn-Dixie. The AK bakery cupcakes were so much better then this cake.

It’s funny because on my solo trips I take food porn at almost every meal….I can’t seem to manage it with the family.

Here’s where we ate:
Leaning Palms x2 - worst burger I’ve had at Disney but the chicken was good! Kids loved the adult chicken tenders with fries or apple slices.

TODDLER TIP: I brought my own paper plates with me to the parks (the cute animal pal ones with the spots for dipping sauces) and the kids would share meals, either an adult chicken nugget meal or a kids meal with some added food I brought with us….saved money and it’s easier to dole out the food with the plates.

Flame Tree BBQ lunch – yum!

Pecos Bills AND got adult chicken nuggets from the Golden Oak Outpost for the kids

Cape May dinner - good but the lines for the buffet can get really long

La Cantina – mixed review (kids had a tuna sandwich that I brought with us)

Captain’s Grille breakfast -- buffet was awesome and the price is cheap (for Disney anyway). I wish I had pictures because it was really good….we’ll be back

EOS – not as good as I remembered but that might have to do with a kid having a meltdown and a cranky DH.

Restaurantosaurus – nice meal here. If I remember correctly the allears kid menu isn’t correct because my kids got a hot dog meal.

Cosmic Rays – meh. Cheese steak sandwich wasn’t great and the BBQ pork sandwich was too small. But the kids liked the entertainment!

Beaches and Cream – we had take out ice cream twice !

Off property dinner at a “Texas” steak house near our resort which was very good and normal prices!

One afternoon we just snacked around World Showcase….should have had some booze because I remember this as being a waste of an afternoon.

We missed ‘Ohanas which I’m still annoyed at myself for. I should have listened to my gut and stuck to the plan. Lesson learned. And we missed breakfast at Boma on the last day because we decided to get on the road earlier because we thought there were storms coming.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Yay you're back Heidi!! Not that you were actually gone... I'm so glad you found some time to post an update today. I think whatever format you want to use to share your trip will be great!

Thanks for the food reviews & pictures.

 

[JPFamilyMom]

Yippee for the update with food pictures yummo

Glad most of your meals turned out well. The kids look cute as always.

Your birthday cake looks so cute, sorry it was too dry to eat.

Glad to hear the buffet at beach club was good, Dh wants to do that in the future.

hope you and the family get to feeling 100% again soon, hugs, and keep those pictures coming

 

[TarzansKat]

I am so hungry now. :lmao

Thank you for trying to share your pictures. I totally understand how you feel about being able to post. Sometimes life just gets way too busy. I feel badly that my ptr is pretty neglected, but life does get in the way. I love the pictures of the kiddos, and can't believe how big they've gotten!

 

[disneyfan61]

Your kids are so adorable so if you want to post pics that's fine!

That's too bad about your bday cake. It's cute but too bad it was so dry.

Wow that cupcake at AKL looks great!!

We loved Cape May. We have never tried Raglan Road.

Great update!

 

[KathyRN137]

Aww, too bad the cake was so dry... it looks fantastic!

Heidi, TR writing is very time-consuming... and family always comes first!

Can't wait to hear about your Liam story!


Kathy

 

[Native NYer]

Your kids are so cute!
So sorry that your birthday cake was dry.
Those cupcakes look amazing.
Raglan Road looks delicious. I booked a lunch ADR that I have considered cancelling. Definitely not doing that now
And great tip on bringing paper plates for the kids to share meals. My nephews never finish a whole kids meal, so this would definitely be a great idea.

And I see you have a new ticker!

 

[englishrose47]

Raglan Road is a favorite of mine !!!!!

 

[All7OfUs]

Great idea to go with a photo journal format. Of course, I"m sad you won't be doing the full-blown report, but do love that you are committed to being there 100% for your family and that comes first. All of your photos are full of yummy stuff! YOu did a great job at capturing those meals for us!

 

[brookelizabeth]

I turned off the email alert thing years ago! I have to tell you that as we drove thru NYC I said to my DH " Hey I know of an apartment in Queens that's empty for the week....should we extend our vacation?"

and the house was even clean!!! Toys for the kids, a king sized bed--next time make yourself at home!

That's funny that you hate driving in WDW because I think it's so easy. Everything is well marked. But you have to forget about how you *think* you know how to get to places because the Disney buses have routes that no normal person would ever choose to use for themselves.

That doesn't surprise me a bit that it's actually easy to drive in Disney as per most people. I have ZERO sense of direction, I never really know which way the buses are going. Though, by the end of 2 weeks this last trip I did have some sort of clue.

I waited until the drive home to injure myself. At one of our pit stops I opened Liam’s car door and something was starting to fall out so I dived for it and ended up driving my left upper arm into part of the car. I have never had a bruise that big, that purple and last as long as that one. I can actually still see a spot of it today on my arm.

Sorry no pictures of that one….

OUCH! I've done that before---awful, awful.

Glad you decided to do the photo journal type format!

H wants to give some smileys: <--that guy is "watching Tron" LOL!

 

[mousescrapper]

Heidi,

glad to see you were able to punch out some time on the TR...how ever you want to retell some of the highlights works for me too

thanks for the food update...

great tip about the paper plates we are sort of beyond the sharing stage but good to know!

and I thought the worst burger at Disney was at Electric Umbrella

also where is this Captain's Grill for Breakfast...tell more!

glad the kids were handling the meals and you had some yummy things throughout the trip!

J~

 

[MRYPPNS]

Yay you're back Heidi!! Not that you were actually gone... I'm so glad you found some time to post an update today. I think whatever format you want to use to share your trip will be great!

Thanks for the food reviews & pictures.

Let's see if I can keep it up long enough to finish!

Yippee for the update with food pictures yummo

Glad most of your meals turned out well. The kids look cute as always.

Your birthday cake looks so cute, sorry it was too dry to eat.

Glad to hear the buffet at beach club was good, Dh wants to do that in the future.

hope you and the family get to feeling 100% again soon, hugs, and keep those pictures coming

Yes the Cape May buffet is really good. They have corn muffins! lol The only draw back is the line for sea food and meat can get backed up.

I am so hungry now. :lmao

Thank you for trying to share your pictures. I totally understand how you feel about being able to post. Sometimes life just gets way too busy. I feel badly that my ptr is pretty neglected, but life does get in the way. I love the pictures of the kiddos, and can't believe how big they've gotten!

I usually only have 10 minute blocks of time to do stuff and that doesn't produce the best TR writing.

Your kids are so adorable so if you want to post pics that's fine!

That's too bad about your bday cake. It's cute but too bad it was so dry.

Wow that cupcake at AKL looks great!!

We loved Cape May. We have never tried Raglan Road.

Great update!

The cupcakes at AK are really good....made the Mickey cake all that more disappointing.

Aww, too bad the cake was so dry... it looks fantastic!

Heidi, TR writing is very time-consuming... and family always comes first!

Can't wait to hear about your Liam story!


Kathy

The cake was awesome looking....I loved how Happy Birthday Heidi was written in chocolate. And we tried to like it but it just wasn't worth the calories!

 

[MRYPPNS]

Your kids are so cute!
So sorry that your birthday cake was dry.
Those cupcakes look amazing.
Raglan Road looks delicious. I booked a lunch ADR that I have considered cancelling. Definitely not doing that now
And great tip on bringing paper plates for the kids to share meals. My nephews never finish a whole kids meal, so this would definitely be a great idea.

And I see you have a new ticker!

If it's nice weather I would suggest sitting outside at Raglan Rd for lunch since there isn't any entertainment inside anyways.
We bring drinks with us into the parks so when the kids shared an adult meal we saved money.

Good eye. I hope to share a bit of "new ticker'' news shortly!

Raglan Road is a favorite of mine !!!!!

That was our first visit and I'm very happy that we tried it.

Great idea to go with a photo journal format. Of course, I"m sad you won't be doing the full-blown report, but do love that you are committed to being there 100% for your family and that comes first. All of your photos are full of yummy stuff! YOu did a great job at capturing those meals for us!

In lots of ways it was an uneventful trip so not a lot of fodder for a TR. But I'll try to sprinkle in a story or two!

That doesn't surprise me a bit that it's actually easy to drive in Disney as per most people. I have ZERO sense of direction, I never really know which way the buses are going. Though, by the end of 2 weeks this last trip I did have some sort of clue.



H wants to give some smileys: <--that guy is "watching Tron" LOL!

You and I should never go on a road trip together because I get lost at the mall!

Thanks Henry for the smileys!

Heidi,

glad to see you were able to punch out some time on the TR...how ever you want to retell some of the highlights works for me too

thanks for the food update...

great tip about the paper plates we are sort of beyond the sharing stage but good to know!

and I thought the worst burger at Disney was at Electric Umbrella

also where is this Captain's Grill for Breakfast...tell more!

glad the kids were handling the meals and you had some yummy things throughout the trip!

J~

Let's not test out the worst burger award!

Captain's Grille is at the Yatch Club. Breakfast is off the menu or buffet. Almost everything that is on the menu is available from the buffet. The buffet itself is in a small room off to the side. It was well worth the price because you get coffee and juice too. The only things it doesn't have compared to the more expensive buffets is someone making omelets and a lot of "dessert" things. You really don't need an ADR (maybe during peak season?) so it makes a great Plan B.

 

[pooh'smate]

The kids are getting so big. We ate at Cape May for one of dinners it was one of favorites and I don't even like seafood. Jon and Lexi loved it. I loved that they had enough selection for people like me. It makes me hungry just thinking about it.

 

[MRYPPNS]

The kids are getting so big. We ate at Cape May for one of dinners it was one of favorites and I don't even like seafood. Jon and Lexi loved it. I loved that they had enough selection for people like me. It makes me hungry just thinking about it.

Come to think of it....I don't think I had any sea food that night. But I made up for it in corn bread and desserts!

 

[MRYPPNS]

I always knew while planning this trip that I wanted to take the kids to Typhoon Lagoon. Liam did 14 weeks of swim lessons with Daddy last fall and winter to prepare him for being in the water…not so much for him to learn to swim but for him to be comfortable in the pools. It worked! Both kids loved the water park. TL has an excellent toddler section made just for their size and abilities. We went twice during the week and if Liam had his way we would have got everyday! Besides the kiddie area we also did the lazy river both visits and the Family raft ride on the first day. We thought it was going to be a 5-10 minute wait for the raft ride….more like 20-25 minutes! And somehow Liam managed it….we knew we were in good shape for the rest of the vacation with him! I had planned on taking a ton of pictures on our 2nd visit because I wanted to show everyone the kiddie section but of course the batteries died. Ugh. Side note: I was really disappointed with the gift shop…there were maybe 5 things total in there that said Typhoon Lagoon on them

Here’s the story about the TR title that I promised….remember when we were driving down to Florida and Liam saw all the palm trees and shrubs and immediately said “Jungle”? Well as we were driving into Typhoon Lagoon he was like “Jungle, Jungle”. So I said “yes we’re going to the Jungle Pool today”…..I mean what a better way to explain where we were going than that to a kid that learns everything based off visuals! Well the Jungle Pool was a HUGE hit and every time, non-stop when we would get in the car to go somewhere that week Liam would chat “Jungle Pool here we come!” Danica was even getting into the act. On the way to Raglan Road in the car, Liam was repeating “jungle pool” over and over. Then DH starts singing Guns and Roses “Welcome to the Jungle”…..next thing you know Liam is now saying “Welcome to the Jungle Pool!” and another trip report title is born. Still to this day the kid’s eyes light up when you mention the Jungle Pool.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Hopefully we'll make it to the jungle pool next year. I'm so glad the kids loved it.

 

[pooh'smate]

Typhoon Lagoon looks like so much fun. It was to cold when we were there. I like your new tickers.

 

[taylor91]

Love the trip report so far, I was having a browse across the DIS and saw the trip report name and was intrigued Looks like you have had a fab time so far, well done on driving there I always think 9 hours on a plane is a long time to get there!! Your children are adorable and it looks like they had lots of fun, especially at TL. Looking forward to reading your next update