Who Invited My Mother In Law? A Moderately Deluxe TR All New X 3 & PTR Link 2/3 !!

[ronnmel]

Aren't they the cutest! Mulan stuff is so hard to find, I got one for Maddie and one for my niece. I see nothing wrong with the Mulan doll waiting on a shelf for a few years for Claudia to grow into it--I'll let you know next time they go on sale.

Yes, Mulan stuff is so scarce! Otaku was ecstatic every time we saw something about Mulan. I really should have bought that doll! I rarely buy from the Disneystore website because shipping is ridiculously expensive, and I live 6 hours away from the closest store. You never know though, I could be visiting Ron's family while they are on sale, so it's nice of you to say you'll let me know.


Maddie's dress is so GORGEOUS!!!! Wow! I love the whole interaction with Donald, and how he came back to let her know he found his hat.

 

[Disney9.9.10]

What a great experience at Chef Mickey's! Maddie looks lovely in her dress, and all of the characters sound like they were great with her. I've heard and experienced some not-so-great things about Chef Mickey's recently, so I'm glad to see a good report!

 

[LizJoy]

I finally joined the DISboards after a year of lurking. I love everything about this TR and cannot wait for you to go again so you can write another one. Thank you for all the invaluable information and the incredible food descriptions. I so want to try the Oreo Bon Bons now. I learned quite a lot from you and have incorporated some of your suggestions into our upcoming trip.

 

[catherines_mama]

We also love Chef Mickey. It's much more about the fun then the food, but it's a little bit about the desserts too! LOL

Excited to see you have a new trip in the works! YAY

 

[pkondz]

Couple of comments then I'm off to read the last chapter...

LOL. You got me there. What a DISmal DISplay on my part.

No worries. You were probably just DIStracted.

That's what I love about you Ponzi-you're all heart.

That's very true. Just ask anyone.



On second thought.... don't.

I did a thread several years ago asking what people thought was the worst restaurant in WDW. Tony's was pretty high on the list. It came in an unofficial 2nd place I believe.

Really? What was the first? We really didn't dislike it. Maybe we got lucky, but it was a nice lunch.

In first place was.... < drumroll please >

ABC Commissary

 

[pkondz]

After this there's only one update and an epilogue/wrap up left for this TR. As some of you have noticed, I do have a new ticker (!!!!!!) and I think that I will do a PTR for the trip. I hope that you'll all join me when I start it! I will be sure to post a link here for anyone who'd like to.

I did see that you had a new ticker. That's great! I'll be clicking on over to the PTR when you get it up and running but I tend to just lurk until the TR starts.

To pass the time we did what anyone would-had a photo shoot!

Love the outfit and especially the hat.

And I see she's learned the classic Disney Princess pose.

We hopped off the bus at MK and made our way on foot to the Contemporary Resort.

Which is way better than hopping off your foot at MK and making your way by bus to the CR.

We'd barely taken our seats before the characters were upon us.

That's how I felt when we did Character meals. I prefer to eat undisturbed ('cause I'm disturbed enough already) but we booked them for the DDs. I kept feeling like I had to smile when all I wanted was to eat my food!

Ah, well. The rugrats were pleased.

There were two different soups (one was sweet corn and chicken chowder),

What was the other?

The hot offerings were ham,

yum

pastas,

yum

baked potatoes,

meh

mashed potatoes,

yum

and roast beef.

double yum.


No veggies! My kind of buffet! Who has room for broccoli when roast beef is calling your name?

Bryan enjoys the food at Chef Mickey so he loaded up on ham, roast beef, potatoes, rolls, and some Mickeyroni and pizza from the kids area.

Sounds close to what I would've done. Except for the Mickeyroni and pizza.

Not because I wouldn't.... but because I would've forgotten that I could.

If you recall, he considered it his job to accurately report on the quality of pizza at every buffet we visited. He found this particular pizza to be pretty good.

It's a sacrifice that Fathers everywhere have to endure.

Oh, the humanity.

Donald however made it a point to stop back by and show Maddie that he'd found his hat. She said that it was really nice of Minnie to find it for him, and he got upset in the way that only Donald Duck can explaining to us that he'd found it all by himself. Maddie giggled for quite a while after that.

That's a great memory!

there's just something so quintessentially Disney about eating dinner with Mickey and the Gang while watching the monorail speed by.

We've only been the one time. But we certainly enjoyed it.

After some time spent mulling over the stuffed animal options, we left the CR and walked back to the Magic Kingdom for the last few hours of our vacation.

Thanks for the chapter Shanaloopie! :

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

I just love a good Maddie photo shoot!

Oh, how I love Chef Mickey's! I know our last visit wasn't so spectacular, but I still can't wait to go again, and your post reminded me of that! Also, Julia got a cute apron for Chef Mickey's that my MIL found at a thrift store, and I'm excited for her to get to wear it there next time. Maybe with her apron and Donald's missing hat, we could have a whole outfit!

We're not fancy people when it comes to taste, and we do love the food at CM just like you guys. We think it's great, very filling.

I'm grateful for the Oreo Bonbon analysis. Very handy.

I hate that this TR is winding down .

 

[1000HappyWishes]

FINALLY finished reading the whole thread! Three hours well spent! Your daughter is absolutely adorable, and she loves the princesses! When I was her age (which wasn't that long ago, maybe nine years ago?) I HATED the princesses and wanted nothing to do with them! Also, I may be able to help you explain that confused PP. I'm much to young to do the College Program or do any work for Disney, a much older friend of mine spent his CP season as a PP. After I told him about what had happened to you, he explained that the photographer might not have been aware that guests could ask to take pictures with their own cameras, as he explained that sometimes the instructors will forget to explain it to the trainees or only inform those who ask that yes, it they can. It might not be right, but it's some sort of solution, at least!

Anyway, a quick question, is there any place to get good Stitch merch at Epcot? I love Stitch and the only park I get to go to is Epcot...

Thank you for posting all of these wonderful photos!

 

[StitchIsOurHero]

Love the Chef Mickey's update--that is one of our favorites, too! We just always have fun there!

Can't wait to read about your last evening and to follow along on your PTR!

 

[RGirl]

Hey Shannon! I enjoyed the updates, but I'm awfully sorry you got sick - it is just so wrong to have to be sick while on vacation, especially a Disney vacation. I'm glad it was towards the end, but still.

Loved hearing about Chef Mickey's for dinner! It looks like Maddie had a blast! We did breakfast there on our first trip, and I am 99% sure that we are going to try for a dinner ADR for the upcoming trip. Can't wait!

 

[merbobear]

I love that back room behind the buffet at CM! I have had breakfast & dinner in that room, and then dinner in the room that is off to the left when you walk into the restaurant. The back room is far superior, for some reason...I guess because it is separated from the buffet and all of the foot traffic!

 

[merbobear]

I went back to your post about the miracle serum for doll hair to see the softener amount to use, and I had to laugh, because I am always questioning in my mind "Do we really need ANOTHER Rapunzel doll?" and Maddy's picture with all of her dolls reminded me that the rationale of a little girl is that too many dolls could never be enough. Thank you Maddy for that reminder! lol I shall never question dd's desire for another Rapunzel, barbie, or any other toy for that matter!

 

[Cinderella909]

Maddie is so adorable in her dress and headband ears! While Chef Mickey will never win food of the year, it remains one of the most fun character meals for us. My DGD says, "I just love Chef Mickey!!"

While we were there, Donald came by the table when DGD was at the dessert bar. Our waiter was kind enough to let Donald know to come back. Although, it took three times to tell Donald, which the waiter made a big to do about Donald being so slow. When Donald came over, he apologized to DGD for missing her. Too cute. DGD left a happy girl!

There were some pretty rambicous children there, Minnie walked over to her handler and shed some tear and regrouped. Not sure what had happened, and luckily, my DGD was oblivious to all of this going on.

Chef Mickey is always on our must do list.

Glad to know you have another trip plan and you're planning on a PTR. Fun to follow along And, if things work out for us, it looks like we might be there the same time!

All the best, Karen

 

[KristinAnne]

I've loved reading about Maddie at Disney! I have to tell you, I pulled my 2 year old over yesterday and started showing her the characters from your report. She keeps coming up to me asking to see again, so I'll pull it back up and show her again! I can't wait until we can take her. That won't be soon since she is getting a sibling in August, but that doesn't mean I don't have an itinerary for our trip in about 4 years! Our first meal will be Chef Mickeys!

 

[partyof2]

So excited to hear you have a new trip planned! Makes me a little less sad that this TR is winding up.

As long as you keep it going I can imagine you guys stuck in Disney permanently!

 

[amandaw]

I adore Maddie's outfit for that night's dinner! She's so precious!

And I love how much she talks to the characters. Reid did a little more talking this year but it certainly wasn't that much.

Sounds like y'all really had a great meal! We've never done dinner at Chef Mickey's, only breakfast. But, I am considering doing a breakfast and dinner there in December since we'll be staying there.

So sad it's almost the end of the trip! But, you know I'll be onboard for the PTR!!!

 

[Caretames1]

We enjoy Chef Mickeys for both breakfast & Dinner and have enjoyed eating there in each trip.
Kadence loves the interaction and the food has been pretty decent for us so far.

I can't wait to hear your upcoming plans

 

[cindianne320]

What a fun dinner! Sorry you still weren't feeling well. We are excited to try Chef Mickey's (for breakfast) for the first time in October!

Can't wait for your PTR- which reminds me that I need to update mine!

 

[KatMark]

Shannon, I'm sorry I'm so late in responding (being sick and then catching up at work kept me off the DIS basically completely last week ).

I love Maddie's princess outfit -- priceless.

Great character photo shots with her, and good interaction with Donald and Minnie.

I have to be honest that yours is the first "good" review of Chef Mickey's I've read in over a year. The last time we were there (2004) it was awful and we've not gone back. I'm thinking of trying to squeeze it in for breakfast on a future trip, but not dinner.

I'm sorry you still weren't feeling great.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Looks like a great time at Chef Mickey's. I agree with you--I don't understand the hate here. But whatever...I'm glad it was a good meal with all the favorite characters!