Were we treated like royalty...? I think so! April R&R TR *Cindy's and Spectro Video*

[TinyDancer]

I just read your entire PTR. I can't wait to start reading this TR now!!

I am also an Army wife, planning our family's FIRST ever trip to WDW for my dh's R&R!

Your reunion pics are just priceless!

 

[The Marsons]

Wow this trippie is one of the most magical i have read in a long time.

Your husbands homecoming photos made me quite teary, i have so much admiration for our 'heroes'.

Looking forward to more

 

[ArmyWife3-4]

Just wanted you to know I haven't disappeared! DH will be home sooner than we expected so my time to get ready for him was cut in half! I promise to update as soon as my head stop spinning and my house gets picked up! Thanks for sticking with me.

 

[caa1277]

Just wanted you to know I haven't disappeared! DH will be home sooner than we expected so my time to get ready for him was cut in half! I promise to update as soon as my head stop spinning and my house gets picked up! Thanks for sticking with me.

I will be here patiently waiting. Glad DH can come home early safe and sound. Your mind needs to be on him, not this TR right now. Update when you have time. I'm sure everyone understands!

 

[mickeyfreak13]

TR #2...family #1. We are patient.....i will just go get more popcorn.

 

[tinkgurl]

Just wanted you to know I haven't disappeared! DH will be home sooner than we expected so my time to get ready for him was cut in half! I promise to update as soon as my head stop spinning and my house gets picked up! Thanks for sticking with me.

Aw that's great he's coming home!

 

[LaurenMic]

Great updates!! That cake you got for Andrew looks AMAZING!!

What a perfect day at Epcot. You guys totally deserved the special treatment. Yay for DH coming home!!

 

[ArmyWife3-4]

Hello Everyone!

I'm back!!!! DH arrived about a week and a half ago, and we've been having an incredible time together. It's so wonderful to just get back into a normal routine together. He had a few days off upon returning so we spent a some time at the beach in Southern Pines, a darling neighboring town. We've mostly just spent a lot of time around the house working on projects and spending time with our baby, Violet. Thankfully, she is adjusting well too! Still not quite used to losing her spot on the bed, but we're working on that one!

So now that we're getting back into a routine....on with the TR! Thank you all for your patience and for the wonderful welcome homes for DH. He really does appreciate it, and we are both so appreciative of the support around the DIS!

 

[ArmyWife3-4]

After our incredible morning, we were pretty much starving! I was so glad I made an ADR for Le Cellier at noon. Our guides were also due for their lunch so it worked out well that our ADR was right at noon. I took a quick minute to call my mom to tell her how insane and unreal this day was, and then we headed over to Pixie Hollow to check things out. I have to give made props to Disney for this one! What a unique experience!

I am a big gardner so seeing all of the details in this garden was such a cool experience! I just loved it. There were so many neat intricacies to discover.

We also made a quick trip through the butterfly garden before heading over to World Showcase. We found the coolest garden sculptures of the Lion King characters. So cool!

Since I may be running out of picture space on this post I'm going to start another one with our actual lunch experience!

 

[ArmyWife3-4]

Once again, our fairy godmother worked her magic! We arrived at our table to find this lovely sight!

So sweet!!!!

Our waiter was wonderful, and he took lots of time to talk to us about Canada and ask about our story since our fairy godmother had made the staff aware of our reservation.

Since we were on the DDP, we decided to go with the trio. Here are some photos of our orders:

DH - Spicy Sausage

Me - Cheese Soup! (Which I tried to recreate from the recipe card the waiter gave us, but it was no where near as good as theirs! Bummer!)

DH - Shaved Prime Rib Sandwich

Me - Small Steak and Salad but I don't remember the real name

Desserts - Cake and Creme Brulee (with a special decoration!)

Our waiter also brought us champagne, which made my day because there were Tinker Bell's on the rim!!

Overall, lunch was alright. I had heard all of the hype, and I was very excited to try Le Cellier. The food was good and the service was excellent, but it wasn't anything over the top. Perhaps part of this was because we were there for lunch and not dinner. Not sure, but I think I'd rather fork over two sit downs for a meal at Artist Point instead of one at Le Cellier.

 

[MEK]

So glad you are back for an update. Sorry you didn't LOVE your meal at Le Cellier. We had an awesome dinner there recently. The filet was really, really good. I should go back and look at your Artist Point review again cause DH and I are eating there during free dining!

 

[kayla87]

Hi! I haven't been active on the boards much this year, but I've been following your report. It's all been so magical!

I shouldn't have read this right before lunch though...I want some cheese soup! If we ever go back there, I'm getting the soup and a raspberry chocolate shake. We did an early dinner there, and I think we all got steaks but my husband said he could get a better one at Logans or Longhorn back home.

Looking forward to hearing more!

 

[LaurenMic]

Great update! Mmmm I love the soup at Le Cellier and the chocolate cake. I am def trying Artist Point next time since you guys seemed ot love it so much. We visited WL on our last trip, just to check it out, and the menu looked SO yummy. Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

 

[caa1277]

We also ate lunch at Le Cellier during our recent trip and was the first time for us as well. I was excited after hearing all the hype but I wasn't impressed either. The food was good and the service great, but nothing spectaular.

 

[ArmyWife3-4]

I apologize for the long lag between posts. Life has been crazy since DH came home. His unit will return this weekend so we've been busy getting ready for their homecoming. Unfortunately yesterday I came down with a nasty bout of food poisioning so I am laid up on the couch. I figure it's a good time to get in another installation of my TR. Finally!

After lunch at Le Cellier, DH and I headed back to find our guides for the day. While waiting for them we took a few photos:

I thought these were too cool! I wanted to take a photo of them for my dad since he is a landscape designer.

My love!

Once we met back up with Elton and Robert, we headed over to the land pavilion. We first hopped on Living with the Land which is one of my favorite rides.

Then...it was time for SOARIN'!!! Robert stepped off for a minute so Elton rode with us. We walked in the back entrance and hopped right on the ride. He told has about two of the hidden Mickey's in the film, and he also told us to hold our hands out like we were flying while the 'gliders' took off. It was a pretty cool feeling!!! After the ride, we found Robert and decided to ride one more time with him.

Next, it was off to the Seas Pavillion. We were able to ride the Seas with Nemo and see Turtle Talk with Crush. We'd never seen Turtle Talk and it was pretty cute!

We wrapped up our time at Epcot and then it was time to part ways with Elton and Robert. What an amazing day! Our fairy godmother had one last surprise for us. We got back to Guest Relations and Elton went in the back to get something for DH. They had a poster made that said 'Thank you for your service to our country' and it had been signed by every Disney character I could think of!!! HOW COOL!!! DH was blown away. What an incredible, one of a kind souvenier to bring home!

We took a few photos with Elton and Robert:

We said our goodbyes and thanked them profusely for their kindness, and then we headed over to World Showcase to relax and explore before Illuminations.

 

[MEK]

Yeah! An update....but I can't see your pictures at work. Blah! Sorry you got food poisoning. That stinks! Hope you are feeling better. Looking forward to seeing your pics later tonight. Sounds like a great day at Epcot!

 

[luvfigment]

I am jumping on board. I had read your TR report from last year and the beginning of your PTR. Looks like your trip was magical and can't wait to read more about it. I am also glad your DH got home safely from Iraq. As a fellow Military Wife (I'm Air Force) I know how hard it can be to be away from your DH. Can't wait to read about the rest of your trip and good luck with training for the half marathon.

 

[ArmyWife3-4]

Yeah! An update....but I can't see your pictures at work. Blah! Sorry you got food poisoning. That stinks! Hope you are feeling better. Looking forward to seeing your pics later tonight. Sounds like a great day at Epcot!

I am finally feeling 100% again. It took me a good 4 days to want to eat anything but chicken soup and toast, and I lost 6 lbs but I am feeling much better! I guess that's one way to lose some weight! I'm glad you're still on board with my TR. I know it's taking me a long time, but I really do love sharing our trip!

I am jumping on board. I had read your TR report from last year and the beginning of your PTR. Looks like your trip was magical and can't wait to read more about it. I am also glad your DH got home safely from Iraq. As a fellow Military Wife (I'm Air Force) I know how hard it can be to be away from your DH. Can't wait to read about the rest of your trip and good luck with training for the half marathon.

Yay! I'm glad you're here! I do remember you from my PTR! I hope life is going well for you and your DH as well!

 

[ArmyWife3-4]

After our very surreal morning, DH and I were ready to explore WS before watching Illuminations from the VIP section, once again thanks to our Fairy
Godmother. Since we had already completed everything we wanted to in FW, we were able to really take out time moseying around. Elton had even given us a free FP for any ride in the park to use so we really were in great shape!

I just couldn't get enough of the topiaries. I thought the detail was exquisite!

I just love this guy!

We checked out the Times Guide and realized we were just in time to catch the acrobats in China. I hadn't seen this since I was very young so I was excited to see it again and have DH see the show too! We were both incredibly amazed at the talent of these young kids. Pretty incredible!

This is one of my favorite photos from our trip. I just love the colors and textures in this photo.

While continuing around WS, I mentioned to DH that I just had to have a Grand Marnier Slush. I was craving one so badly (actually since last August! ...) and I knew he could use a beer. We headed over to France, and waiting in a looooong line.
While waiting, I noticed the man in front of me wearing a bright purple shirt. At one point he turned around, and I noticed the Owner's Locker logo on the shirt. I decided I want to mention to this person what a great idea I thought the Owner's Locker was, and as we started talking, the man introduced himself as John, the owner of Owner's Locker! This was so ironic because DH and I had just been talking about OL when we saw one of their vehicles at the gate.
John is such an incredibly kind person. We really enjoyed talking with him as we waited in line. Once we got to the front of the line, John so graciously offered to buy us our drinks in honor of our 'anniversary' and DH's return from Iraq. What a great guy! I had also mentioned that I was on the DIS, and he brought us over to meet a few other DISers including Goofy4Tink of the Transpo Boards.
We really enjoyed out time chatting and getting to know John and his friends. What a wonderful group of people! Thanks again, John!

After spending some time with the DISers and OL peeps, we continued back around the world as it was starting to get dark and we needed to find our spots for Illuminations. While we wandered, I snapped a few shots:

I decided that rather than rushing to take photos of Illuminations, we would just enjoying watching together. We met some great people while waiting, many of whom were celebrating anniversaries as well.

On our was our way out, I snapped a few photos of the incredible sand sculpture several artists spent the day working on in celebrations of Disney's Earth movie.

 

[MEK]

OMG....Another great update! You and your DH definately win the award for the most magical trip! I want a fairy godmother...STAT! Just kidding....your DH totally deserves it! Nothing I do can compare to his work and sacrifice! Hope you will continue to update.

BTW - I notice you are training for the 1/2 marathon. I thought I'd mention that I scored some really nice running shirt/shorts/pants yesterday at my local Dick's. They were 50% off the sale price. Made my run so much nicer last night cause I thought I looked all "cute" in my new clothes!