I think it's wonderful that you made yourself slow down a little bit to take everything in. I am the same way, rushing, making sure we see/do everything and forget to actually enjoy myself. How wonderful that you went in with that mindset. I'm sorry you missed the Up characters. That has got to be one of my favorite Disney movies ever.
Me too...I cried and cried in the theater. Still do when I watch it now but I still love it! I was bummed to miss them.
Glad you had a good meal/time at DHS!! I've never visited the animation center-- not exactly an artist! Sorry you had to draw Stitch!!
I'm not an artist AT ALL!! but the animators do a really good job of walking you through the process!
Looks like a great first night! And yes we had a great time seeing Mary Poppins. I would love to go to Caifornia Grill for the view but I am not an adventerous eater at all so it makes me very nervous!
you could always go and get something simple like a flatbread and dessert. The view is definitely worth a visit!
Katie, love the update. The view from CG is marvelous (we've never dined there).
I love your drawing of the obnoxious Stitch--that is how he'd probably look if I drew him too (very low on my list of Disney characters...and the reason we stopped getting wake up calls).
I'm glad you decided to "slow down" a little this trip and enjoy the moment. I think we all sometimes rush and forget to just enjoy what we are doing at that specific time.
That dinner was a great kickoff to the trip!
I'm always suprised at the number of people who express a fondness for that vile creature. I will never go to Ohana breakfast because of him!
Oohhhh your dinner looks soooo good! Even the sushi looks pretty although I'm not sure if I would have liked it!! Don't you just love that butter with the salt? The Wave does that too and I know it is something simple but boy do I love it!!
Love your game plan for the night...just walking around and taking the time to enjoy everything....I am looking forward to a laid back trip in October

Awww Stitch is cute!! I loved drawing (I am sooo not good!

) but it is so much fun!!
Tracy
Yes, that salt on the butter was SO good! at our Narcoossee's dinner, I expressed to my Dad how enjoyable it is but he didn't like the fact they used unsalted butter and the flavor was only concentrated in bites
My goal this night was to wander because I assumed I would have to wait much too long for a ride (I never even checked times in fact

)
Your dinner looks great! I'm so happy they were able to seat you. I'm with Tracy, they even make sushi look good - but I'd NEVER try it
Good for you slowing down, I found myself doing just the opposite and feeling a bit stressed at times because of it
That's how I was on my last trip, stressed out over making sure everyone knew what was coming next and getting to do what they wanted, I didn't enjoy myself as much as I should have
ooo, love the pork dish at Cali Grill! I got that too!
It's funny cause when I did "what character are you most like" I got Ursula!!! And I did NOT take a pic to remind myslef of that!
I had heard that the character you get largely depends on how you answer the last question (would you rather eat dinner with nice people or eat nice people for dinner?) so I did it a second time but got some really obscure character...yeah, no picture!
Ok, first, that food looked so yummy! A little different than the places we went with my 3 kids

. That view is amazing. So glad that you stopped to take it in. I have to remind myself to do that too and found I was fairly good at it this trip b/c we had just been 2 years ago. But here is what I really have to say:
My son is going to kill me that the "What Character are You Most Like" thing was at DHS all along (a park that we spend lots of time in). I had read about this somewhere and told him about it while we were at Epcot thinking that it was there and of course we never found it. He was so dissapointed. I won't forget where it is on our next trip. So glad you put that up!!
I never saw any poorly behaved children at the signature restaurants but I was surprised at how many kids I saw. I know my boys would never appreciate the food and I could never just relax and enjoy. That's way too much money to spend on I dinner I can't enjoy properly! Save it for an adults trip!
Now you know! Surprise you son next time...