Bibbidi-Bobbidi-BOO and a few Disney Dresses too!~ A Sept ’13 TR

[TruLovesKiss]

May your your day be touched by a bit o' Irish luck! Happy St Patty's Day!

 

[strmtroopr96]

Finally getting a chance to catch back up. Love all the updates and such adorable pictures! Your kids are just so cute even when they aren't at their happiest.

Just looking at your pictures of the Poly lobby was bringing back that unique Poly scent to me. Ahh, just something about that lobby that smells so perfect.

Sorry that your Ohana dinner wasn't as great as you wanted it to be. We have done the breakfast a few times and always enjoyed it but never been for dinner. The reviews I've read have been mixed and although mostly positive I am not 100% sure it is right for us. My girls love the luau.

Can't wait to read about your AK day. Your last full day was our very last day.

 

[TruLovesKiss]

Nope, had no idea about the torch lighting. None at all. Pretty neat though. And I'm all for people not knowing if it keeps the crowd low.

I have seen photos of that drink but never seen it in person or obviously had one. But it is my absolute goal to drink something made IN a fruit.

Haha, looks like Isla's nap did wonders. Noting but smiles in these photos.

Sorry your Ohana experience wasn't stellar. Honestly I head so many widely different views of all the Disney restaurants that it makes me glad I just don't do them. I know for sure some experiences are exceptional, but for the prices and time they can take, I'd just prefer to have my chicken nugs and move on, lol.

The torch lighting was so much fun! And it was awesome that there was practically no one there for it... it was almost like our own private show, and the best part, it was totally free!

Any drink made in a fruit HAS to be good, right? It is definitely my goal to try it someday. I had heard that it is pretty strong though, so I knew that my stomach wouldn't have been able to handle it that night we ate at 'Ohana... I'm pretty wimpy with my alcohol to begin with, haha.

Isla is a completely different person when she is not tired!

Can you believe that I didn't have a single chicken nugget on our trip (and I LOVE chicken nugs ... and I hear that Disney has some awesome ones)... there absolutely MUST be some next trip!! We definitely spent way too much time (and $) at Table services, next time there will be much less of that.

Looks like the lighting ceremony was a pretty fun time! I do kinda want to check it out, maybe if we make it back to Ohana for dinner again lol!

I seem like we had a similar experience at Ohana, it had been a long day, and I feel like we were seated near to each other as well, it was also awkward because there were 3 of us at table for 6 or more…awkward…the food was great, but not as spectacular as I had hoped it would be and thought it would be due to all the reviews. I do want to check it out again though, when I'm more hungry

You have to check out the torch lighting ceremony if you head back to 'Ohana. It was such a fun way to start off the night!

Yes, that was probably part of the problem. I had read so many people's rave reviews of the food at 'Ohana, that I had really high expectations of it... and well, it just wasn't that spectacular

The torch lighting looks really cool! I didn't know they did anything like that there either. Seems like it had the kids' attention! The family pictures in front of the waterfall are just perfect!

Sorry the dinner at 'Ohana wasn't all you had hoped it would be. I've never had dinner there, but it definitely seems like a LOT of food and that you need to go in hungry to appreciate it. I hope if you ever do give it another try, it is better!

Are the girls wearing Disney princess cover-ups at the pool?!?!?!? Okay STOP IT, that is just too cute!!!

The torch lighting was really cool. I wasn't sure if my kids would sit through the whole Spirit of Aloha dinner show, so this was an awesome way to get a taste of the Luau without having to use up 2 dining credits. It was the perfect start to our tropical-themed night. The Poly lobby is so beautiful... I can't believe that I didn't take more pics. I guess that I was too busy trying to take it all in. I believe that they just started a big renovation of the Poly's GCH, so I wonder what is in store for the waterfall... I had heard rumors that they were taking it away.

Yup, those were princess cover-ups that the girls were wearing at the pool. Isn't that just the best idea ever?

i'm joining in! your kids are so cute! and i love your toy story toms! i can't wait to read about the rest of your trip.

Thanks for joining in!

Aww, thank you!! I want to paint another pair of Toms for our next trip, I'm just not sure what theme to do yet.

I've really enjoyed reading your trip report! It is obvious that you did your research and organized the perfect trip for your family. Your children's outfits are amazing! When you return for your next trip to you plan on reusing them or will you plan new costumes? If you don't reuse them you will have to share your resell site

what are your biggest "must do's" for your return trip? My family went last January and I feel there were SO many things we didn't get to, I can't wait to return.

thanks for sharing and letting us come along for the ride on your family's trip!

I did do a TON of research before last trip... I really enjoyed it and it also helped pass the time. For this trip, I seem to be having a much harder time. I felt like everything fell into place last trip... this time, I feel like so much is still up in the air and I'm having a much harder time deciding on things. What new things to do? What do we want to do again? Dining plan or no dining plan? Ahhhh! I'll probably talk about our "Must Dos" at the end of this TR, but our biggest one is trying the Christmas party. That's why we made sure to pick the dates that we did, otherwise we probably would have gone back in Sept/beginning of Oct. It was such a great time to go!

I have already sold most of my customs from last trip and have bought a TON more for next trip. It is so addicting! I buy and sell mostly through my Facebook "customs" friends and Disney resell groups.

I have loved reading your trip report and seeing all of you kids' adorable outfits. One of my favorite things about going to Disney is designing and making my children's outfits. Did you have them all made or do you make some of them? The swim cover-ups are so cute! Also, I love all the hair accessories. Did you make those or do you recommend someone for cute headbands and accessories?

Designing/coordinating our Disney clothes was and is one of my favorite parts of planning our trip! It is so much fun! Many of the outfits that my kids wore, were purchased from my "customs" friends after their trips, and some I worked together with designers to create. It's pretty amazing how many Disney inspired hair accessories there are on Etsy... you can search for a specific character or theme and usually find something to match an outfit perfectly! And most designers are willing to custom make anything, if you have somthing in mind. It's awesome!

Oh my goodness. I've never seen princess cover-ups like that. I may have to add that to my to-do list!

I don't think we'd care for Ohana either but we just aren't big meat eaters in general. It's such a bummer to have a let-down experience like that, though. Boo!

Aren't they just too cute? Such a simple idea, but SO adorable!! If you have time, you definitely should add it to your to-do list. You are so talented that I'm sure it would turn out amazing!

Yeah 'Ohana was a bummer for us. The all-you-can-eat meat is not really my thing either, but I thought that I'd make up for it with the shrimp and sides and dessert... but after trying everything, I was finding myself just wanting to leave and go swimming instead of staying to eat!

Finally getting a chance to catch back up. Love all the updates and such adorable pictures! Your kids are just so cute even when they aren't at their happiest.

Just looking at your pictures of the Poly lobby was bringing back that unique Poly scent to me. Ahh, just something about that lobby that smells so perfect.

Sorry that your Ohana dinner wasn't as great as you wanted it to be. We have done the breakfast a few times and always enjoyed it but never been for dinner. The reviews I've read have been mixed and although mostly positive I am not 100% sure it is right for us. My girls love the luau.

Can't wait to read about your AK day. Your last full day was our very last day.

LOVE that Poly scent! I didn't understand what people were talking about until about halfway through our trip, I noticed it. I was like "Ah ha, yes, so THAT's the Poly smell!"

I am so glad that we decided to do the 'Ohana breakfast (it was a last minute addition when I scored a Lilo dress resell haha!) since we ended up enjoying it so much! I was really looking forward to 'Ohana dinner, mainly because of all of the great reviews, but didn't love it at all! I guess you never know until you try it, right? The luau is definitely something we'll have to try sometime.

Oh that's right! Our AK day is when you spotted us in our Safari sets

 

[TruLovesKiss]

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Day #8 ~ Our last FULL day

This day was a pretty special day for us since it was our 9th Wedding Anniversary!…. and we had a pretty fancy shmancy dinner planned for later that night at one of Disney’s Signature restaurants, whoo hoo! More on that next time….

For now, we were up bright and early and headed back to the GCH for our 7:45 ADR at Kona Café!
And this time there was no waiting around for a table…. we were seated right away. We were given a table on the opposite side of the restaurant, the smaller seating area to the right of the podium this time, so it was nice to get a different feel. We also had a super sweet waitress.

Both Joe and I ordered the Tonga Toast.

Banana-stuffed Sourdough French Toast rolled in Cinnamon Sugar and served with a Strawberry Compote and your choice of Ham, Bacon, or Sausage

An inside view:

SO yummy! It’s huge and I ate the whole thing!

We also shared another Kona Coffee French Press Pot.

Donovan ordered:
Oatmeal and Dried Cranberries - served with Turkey Bacon and Fruit Salad.

Jorie ordered:
Goofy Toast - Only Goofy would fry an Egg in the middle of a piece of Toast!



And Isla ordered:
Minnie's French Toast - rolled in Cinnamon Sugar-it's almost as sweet as our Minnie.

The girls loved what they ordered but Donovan would not eat his oatmeal, he wouldn’t even try it. He was actually making himself cough and gag so much over it, that I had to take him to the restroom so that he didn’t vomit at the table. He has a bad habit of doing that at home when we are eating something he “doesn’t like.” Yuck!

So besides that, we had a wonderful breakfast. Our food came out quickly, as did our bill and we were off to the park in no time!

It was our last FULL day in Disney…. and where were we heading? (*check out Jorie’s dress for a hint*)

Animal Kingdom!


Once inside we stopped for some PP pics, this time up a little closer to the Tree of Life.





I had known to keep my eye out for Island Merchantile, since that is the one spot in the park where you can trade vinylmations. Well after our PP pics, we spotted it right away and headed inside.



Isla had gotten a Jessie vinylmation from her trade in Downtown Disney and Donovan had gotten a Star Wars Donald Duck. They were both happy with them, so instead of trading, they wanted to hold onto them. Jorie and Bronwyn wanted to try their luck at the Mystery Box. Jorie got a Luke Skywalker (without his lightsaber) which she thought was a “Safari guy” and perfect for Animal Kingdom, so she was happy with him. Bronwyn got a Monkey (from the Chinese Zodiac series) which the kids also thought was fitting for AK. 4 happy kiddos= 1 happy Mama!



We had a 9-10am FP+ for Kilimanjaro Safari. Now you may be feeling some déjà vu with this update since we already did both Kona Café and the Safari on our trip…. But definitely two things worth repeating. We gave the kids the option of going on the safari again, or trying something else. But they all wanted to do the safari… so we headed into Africa!

Remember to always look up!

Love all of the details!

Before we knew it, we were…


And we had the same tour guide from our safari ride earlier in the trip… so it did feel like déjà vu!































Not too much stands out in my memory from the safari ride except for the fact that all 6 of us were in one row and I was having a hard time taking pics while holding onto Isla, making sure she didn't bounce out over the side, haha.

continued in next post

 

[TruLovesKiss]

*continued from last post



Checking out the mist.





Next, we wanted to head to a part of the park that we hadn’t explored yet…



We boarded the Wildlife Express Train and rode to Rafiki’s Planet Watch.



The kids stopped for their first Wilderness Explorer badge.

If we had more time, I know that they would have loved collecting all of the badges in the handbook.



We couldn’t wait to check out Conservation Station.

The stonework here was really amazing.

Donovan was a little bored of whatever Joe was saying *big yawn* lol. Actually he wasn’t really acting himself. I was hoping that he was just tired and not getting sick.



Hidden Mickey!


We didn’t get to see any veterinary procedures… but we did get to see...

Rafiki!!!




And the kids got to pet a snake.






After looking around the exhibits, we decided to head back…

On the walk back, Donovan was crying that his body was so tired and he couldn’t walk. Usually I just ignore him when he complains about having to walk… but I could tell this time was different and he really was not feeling well. We had parked our strollers back in Africa, so that we wouldn't have to carry them onto the train, so Joe gave Donovan a ride up on his shoulders.



We only waited a couple minutes and then the train arrived to take us back to Africa.





We still had two more FP+s to use.... would we make it to them? Or would sickness cut our day short? Tune in next time to see....

NEXT

 

[I_Luv_Stitch]

I LOVE the girls outfits, especially Isla's just love the ruffles!
What a shame that Donovan was getting sick, especially on your last full day!
Hope you got to use your 2 FP+

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY (almost 6 moths ago). OR you can consider this an early 10th Happy Anniversary wish.

Ahaha cute with "Safari Luke". Hey whatever works to make 'em happy, roll with it.

Nothing wrong with doing a safari multiple times since they're all so very different.

I must include the Conservation Station one of these trips. It's been YEARS since I've been there. And what brave kids you have, touching a snake.

 

[katt789]

Yay for Kona, glad you mostly enjoyed everything! I do love that it has a much more relaxed feel there rather than say, Ohana. And tonga toast! YUM!!

Yay for AK!!

Oh my goodness “a safari guy” that is the cutest thing!!!

Ahahaha what a deju vu morning, that’s so weird!!!

I feel like all kids enjoy collecting all the badges! Including ME! Lol. In Sept I was with my Mom and had been wanting to do it and upon getting the first couple badges I decided I “WANT THEM ALLLLLL” sadly we didn’t accomplish that hahaha!

Awwe! I hope everyone stays feeling healthy!!

 

[khertz]

Their AK outfits are soooooo cute!! I guess at this point I should just tell you when I think their outfits AREN'T cute (which will never happen ), because I feel like a broken record. But seriously, those are the cutest dressed Disney kids I have ever seen!

Seems like a pretty nice morning at AK. We really like riding the train out to Rafiki's Planet Watch now that we have finally given it a try. The girls look so cute petting the snake.

Oh no, I hope Donovan didn't get really sick. That would be a sucky way to end the trip.

 

[TruLovesKiss]

I LOVE the girls outfits, especially Isla's just love the ruffles!
What a shame that Donovan was getting sick, especially on your last full day!
Hope you got to use your 2 FP+

Thanks! Isla's outfit had a cute pair of matching Capri pants with appliques of Minnie & Mickey, but it was way too hot for her to wear them that day. Maybe the full outfit will make an appearance in a future TR.

I know! -poor Donovan, I felt so bad for him. I knew that he must not be feeling well when all he wanted to do was sleep.

Read on to see if we use those next 2 FP+s...

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY (almost 6 moths ago). OR you can consider this an early 10th Happy Anniversary wish.

Ahaha cute with "Safari Luke". Hey whatever works to make 'em happy, roll with it.

Nothing wrong with doing a safari multiple times since they're all so very different.

I must include the Conservation Station one of these trips. It's been YEARS since I've been there. And what brave kids you have, touching a snake.

Thank you! Wow, almost 10 years, yikes!!

Here's "Safari Luke":

Jorie wasn't too thrilled with her trade when she later found out that he was indeed Luke Skywalker, haha.

Conservation Station is definitely worth heading over to. The AC makes it a great escape from the heat... oh and the exhibits are pretty awesome too! I was not a fan of the snake but the kids were pretty proud that they got to pet him.

Yay for Kona, glad you mostly enjoyed everything! I do love that it has a much more relaxed feel there rather than say, Ohana. And tonga toast! YUM!!

Yay for AK!!

Oh my goodness “a safari guy” that is the cutest thing!!!

Ahahaha what a deju vu morning, that’s so weird!!!

I feel like all kids enjoy collecting all the badges! Including ME! Lol. In Sept I was with my Mom and had been wanting to do it and upon getting the first couple badges I decided I “WANT THEM ALLLLLL” sadly we didn’t accomplish that hahaha!

Awwe! I hope everyone stays feeling healthy!!

LOVED Kona Cafe!! Definitely a favorite of ours and probably one that we'll HAVE to eat at every trip. Being our first trip and trying to fit so many things in, there wasn't much that we did twice, but no one was sad about doing Kona & the Safari again!

I'm with you -I would LOVE to dedicate a whole day in AK to collecting badges. Someday we should!

I know... with 4 kids and 9 days in Disney we were bound to have someone get sick. I was actually pretty surprised, and thankful, that we had lasted that long!

Their AK outfits are soooooo cute!! I guess at this point I should just tell you when I think their outfits AREN'T cute (which will never happen ), because I feel like a broken record. But seriously, those are the cutest dressed Disney kids I have ever seen!

Seems like a pretty nice morning at AK. We really like riding the train out to Rafiki's Planet Watch now that we have finally given it a try. The girls look so cute petting the snake.

Oh no, I hope Donovan didn't get really sick. That would be a sucky way to end the trip.

I won't ever get sick of hearing you say that their outfits are cute!! Thank you, thank you! I really love planning their Disney clothes. It's what I do, it's what I live for...

We really enjoyed the train ride too. Donovan LOVES trains- he has since he was a baby, so it was a shame that he really wasn't feeling well when we did it.
Ugh, that snake. I hate snakes! But the kids sure seemed to like him.

 

[TruLovesKiss]

So what does Joe do all weekend with the kids when I'm at work?

Apparently he doodles Disney characters.... Look at what I found Monday morning:

haha, LOVE it!! They're pretty good, aren't they?

Anyway, continuing on with our Wild morning in AK….

O, Tree of Life, you are so magnificent

Our next FP+ that we had scheduled, was for Kali River Rapids for between 10:40-1140. We had just enough time to make it over to Asia if we were going to ride. But when I mentioned it, surprisingly no one seemed that interested. So we opted for something a little more on the drier side….

It's Tough to be a Bug!


The kids got a kick out of the Bug 3-D glasses!







Hahaha! I definitely laughed out loud at this one, and probably shrieked a couple times too. What an awesome 4D show! The effects are great! My kids, even Bronwyn, really enjoyed this one! …but I can definitely see how it would be too scary and intense for some younger kids.

Our final FP+ of the day (12-1PM) was for a character M&G at Adventurers Outpost… well we had to ask a CM where exactly this was located since we couldn’t find it anywhere on the map. Turns out, it was on Discovery Island and we were right by it!

We scanned our Mickey’s and within minutes we were meeting Mickey... and Minnie too!

It looks like Bronwyn ran in for the first hug!!














Minnie kisses!










Bye Mickey!

Well we had a great morning in Animal Kingdom and accomplished pretty much everything that we wanted to, whoo hoo!! … one more ride on EE would have been a bonus but you can’t fit everything in…. So it was time to head out for lunch. On our way toward the front of the park we stopped for an anniversary pic without the kids.





Then we called the kids over for a “magic shot.” Bronwyn was the only one who would join us…. the others were happy to stay put in the strollers, but they were really kicking themselves when they got home and saw what they missed in the PP pics, haha!


Aww, Baby Simba!

We said farewell to Animal Kingdom. And boy did we leave with a bang… on the walk out of the park, Isla had done something (I’m not even sure now what it was) that lead us to confiscate her sunglasses. Well she wanted them back in the worst way, and was letting EVERYONE know it. Her little tantrum went on for the entire 10-15 minute wait (maybe it wasn’t even that long but it felt like a lifetime!) for the bus. And I apologize to anyone who may have been there to witness her crying “I want my sunglasses!” over and over and over and over. I’m pretty certain that you all wanted me to just give her the darn sunglasses! Uh!




continued in next post

 

[TruLovesKiss]

The resort bus finally arrived… although this time we would not be boarding a bus back to the Polynesian but instead we were headed to ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE!!!

We got off at the Kidani village stop and followed signs to our destination…

We had a 1:00 ADR for lunch at SANAA! Yeah! We are pretty adventurous eaters, so we were really excited about trying the food here, plus I couldn’t wait to see the resort!



We parked our strollers in the waiting area, checked in at the desk and were seated right away.

We lucked out with another prime corner table – and right next to the floor-to-ceiling windows with views of the Savannah!

Right off the bat we spotted this guy outside.


We placed our orders and I could see that Donovan was fading fast, he could barely keep his eyes open. The restaurant was pretty empty and there was plenty of open space, so we asked about bringing one of the double strollers in next to our table. Donovan climbed in and fell asleep almost immediately. He hadn’t been feeling “sick,” just exhausted. All of the running around had definitely caught up with him.

I started off with a yummy Lemonade.

All-Natural Lemonade topped with Wildberry Foam.

Joe and I shared:

Appetizers Sampler for Two - Potato and Pea Samosas, Lamb Kefta Sliders, and Chana Tikki (Spiced Chickpea Cakes) served with Tomato & Mango Chutney

My entrée:

Grilled Angus Chuck Burger - Signature Sandwiches From the Tandoor Ovens - With goat cheese and spiced mustard sauce. Served open-faced on Naan Bread with Minted Greens, Tomato, Onion, and Cucumber Raita

My burger was juicy and delicious. And so unique- the combination of flavors worked perfectly together. Two thumbs up!

Joe’s pick:

Slow Cooked in Gravy, Simple and Well Seasoned - Choice of two served with Basmati Rice or Five-grain pilaf: Butter Chicken; Spicy Durban Chicken or Shrimp; Beef Short Ribs; Sustainable Fish with Goan Curry. Joe chose the Butter Chicken & Fish which he really enjoyed.

The girls all shared their kids meals: Ranch Veggie Pizza, Cheese Pizza and Shrimp with fruit cups.



For dessert I ordered:

Dessert Trio - Coconut Cheesecake, Chai Cream and Tanzanian Chocolate Mousse

And Joe had the:
Shahi Tukra - "Indian-style" Bread pudding with Spiced Vanilla Sauce

The girls had a fun time with their "Cookies and Milk"
Decorate-Your-Own Sugar Cookie, Strawberry Lassi




(she had earned her sunglasses back after some good behavior and manners)





You can see Sleeping Beauty in the background. Since Bronwyn had eaten his lunch, we ordered a Buzz Lightyear Punch to take along for him.



Overall, we loved Sanaa. Getting to eat "with" the animals was amazing. The atmosphere, the service, the food ~ everything was Awesome! (has anyone seen the Lego Movie btw? Lol)

The perfect lunch for our Animal Kingdom day. Oh wait, there’s just one more thing that might make our day complete…. ZEBRA DOMES!!

So we took off in search of The Mara….we were told to head to Jambo House.







We found ourselves in the lobby of Animal Kingdom Lodge…. WOW!! So beautiful!





We made our way down to the ground floor and found the entrance to The Mara right next to the Uzima Springs Pool. It looked so refreshing… especially after our trek across the resort! I wanted to take a quick dip but no, we were on a mission...

Once inside we found some Zebra Domes in the grab-and-go section. Success!!







I’ve read that you’d either love or hate these little coffee-kahula treats…. well I was pretty much in between. I didn’t know what to really expect when I bit into it and well yeah, I didn’t really LOVE or HATE it. I would eat another, but I probably wouldn’t make a special trip just get one.

We headed back up to the lobby and while the other kids were asleep in the strollers, Isla did some pin-trading with a super sweet CM. Actually the CM just gave Isla like 3 of her pins because she thought that she was so cute…. Yeah she should have seen her about an hour or so before that during her crying fit, lol.



We then boarded a bus to MK and then somehow made our way back to the Poly (most likely by monorail but I honestly can’t remember)


keep reading...

 

[TruLovesKiss]

Epcot was still on the back of my mind… and wouldn’t ya know it, there just happened to be evening EMH for Epcot this very night. The next day would be our last day and I had planned on taking full advantage of morning EMH before we had to catch our Magical Express… so I hadn’t wanted to stay out late this night…. buuuut, I think heading back to Epcot sounds like a MUCH better plan! Don’t you? Who needs sleep anyway? There’s NO sleeping in Disney! So Joe and I said that we’d see how the evening went and maybe we’d head over to Epcot after dinner.

We relaxed in our hotel room until it was time to get dressed for dinner… and yes, this was a dinner that I could not wait for!

Way back when we were deciding on ADRs, we knew that we’d like to try a signature restaurant for our anniversary dinner. We also knew that we wanted the location to be fairly close to our resort since we’d be dealing with the busses earlier in the day. After looking at the menus, the choice was between California Grill and Narcoossee’s. Well at the time when I went to make ADRs, and California Grill had no set reopening date after it’s refurb and were not taking reservations, the choice was set.

We’d be eating at NARCOOSSEE’S!

We boarded the resort monorail and enjoyed the short ride over to the Grand Floridian.


Hopefully dinner tastes better than this stroller!









We were seated rather quickly for our 6:10 ADR. We had a window table with a Lagoon view.

Our drinks and a loaf of warm bread were brought to our table.




The kids loved the Mickey straws!

I had ordered a Red Stag Lemonade (Red Stag Black Cherry Bourbon and Odwalla Lemonade garnished with Luxardo Gourmet Maraschino Cherries) Yum!
And the Crab Cake appetizer.


Crunchy on the outside and packed with crab meat on the inside. They were amazing!

Joe’s soup:

Maine Lobster Bisque - Bouchée Pastry laced with Butter-poached Lobster, Coral, Vanilla-infused Lobster Oil, and Chervil
I tried a spoonful or two and it was excellent! And yes, that’s a cute little pastry FILLED with huge chunks of lobster!

We both ordered the Surf & Turf as our entrée:

Butter-poached Maine Lobster Tail with Grilled Filet Mignon - Roasted Potatoes, Grilled Spring Onions, Velvet Pioppini Mushrooms, and French Green Beans with Herbed Cabernet-Oxtail Sauce and Smoked White Truffle

So far our meal had been delicious! Now bring on dessert!!

We both ordered the Crème Brulee-

Coconut and Chocolate Crème Brûlée - Layered Coconut and Chocolate with Whipped Chantilly Cream and Toasted Coconut

The kids all picked the Make-Your-Own Smores


That run down feeling had hit Jorie and she was pretty “blah” during dinner.


But she managed to force a smile for me.



Donovan was feeling MUCH better after sleeping most of the day.





During dessert Joe pulled this for me.




He’s such a sweetie!

Overall we had a wonderful (and as “romantic” as it can be with 4 kids along!) Anniversary dinner. The food was absolutely fabulous! And we felt that our dinner was a great value when using the Deluxe Dining plan. Our entrée alone would have been $71 out of pocket. The kid’s meals however, were NOT worth using 2 dining credits for. The burgers and mac & cheese that the kids had ordered were $7 & $8! Looking back we should have paid for their dinners out of pocket. What a huge waste of a dining credit!

And while we are on the topic of dining credits…In the beginning of our trip we had been good about keeping track of our dining credits, but by the end we had gotten pretty lax. Well after we were home from the trip, I was thinking about how many credits we had used and how many we had left on the last day of our trip and well something didn’t seem to match up. We started looking over our receipts and we discovered that we had been charged for extra alcoholic beverages at Narcoossee’s. Thankfully, Disney took care of this when we called them about it and while we were on the phone with the CM, he discovered that we had also paid for another family’s entire dinner!! That’s where the missing dining credits had gone! Yikes, talk about one expensive dinner! LOL So a word to the wise- always keep track of those dining credits after every meal!





The grounds of the GF are so pretty when they are all lit up at night.



Bronwyn was still going strong!



…and twirling in her party dress.



Everyone seemed to be in good spirits, so we decided to hop onto the monorail and head to EPCOT, yay!! But were we pressing our luck?


NEXT

 

[TruLovesKiss]

Jorie fell asleep within minutes of laying down in the stroller. I LOVE that you can just roll the double stroller right onto the monorail and not have to disturb a sleeping kid! The convenience of the monorail is priceless!

As we headed into Epcot, regular park hours were ending and EMHs were just starting. When the CMs saw that we were wearing magic bands, they waved us right into the park. After a bathroom break, we headed for Test Track! If you remember from earlier in our trip, we weren’t able to use our TT FP+ because it was down due to inclement weather.

We walked right up to the standby line and asked for a rider switch pass. Surprisingly, Isla wanted to ride and Donovan DID NOT want to ride.

So Joe took Isla on…. (and it was a walk-on! YAY for EMH!!)

Isla’s ride





and? …….she LOVED it!!

She came off super excited and full of smiles…. And well Donovan couldn’t be outdone by his 4 year-old sister, so he agreed to ride with me. Isla wanted to ride again and luckily there are three seats across, so that would work out perfectly!



Donovan’s ride



Isla is in there too, you just can’t see her.

Holy crazy hair!


So what did Donovan think? He thought it was AWESOME!!! I’m so glad that he overcame his fear and decided to ride it.

We then headed into World Showcase (we went to the left this time.) We had hoped that the Food & Wine booths would still be open but unfortunately they weren’t.

I knew one place that we had to stop!



I just HAD to try School Bread. Do you see a pattern here that most of my Must-Dos were related to food?! Hahaha

I excitedly went inside and …… no school bread. They were all out. NOOOOOOOOOOO!!! I was so disappointed. So we picked a Troll horn to try instead, which was actually quite good!



Then we made our way over to Germany to check out the caramel goodies at:




Oh my!! How do we even choose? We ending up picking out quite a few snacks which we saved for later.

Then as we were slowly walking around WS, we realized that for the first time….all 4 kiddos were asleep in the strollers. It was quiet. No one was around and it was quite romantic!!





In Epcot, strolling through WS with the love of my life and 4 sleeping children…. the night was perfection! …Or so we thought....

It was nearly 11PM, so we headed out the park gates and for the monorail and WAIT!!! WHAT?!?! No, monorail? I don’t know if it’s always like this after EMH, but the monorail was not running and all guests were being directed to the bus stop. NOOOOOOOO! The possibility of this never even occurred to me!!! We had 4 sleeping kids that we’d have to wake up so that we could get them out of the double strollers, so that we could fold up the strollers to get them onto the bus. Ughhhh, we had definitely pressed our luck!!!

We lined up with what felt like a billion people all heading to the Poly, GF, Contemporary, and WL/FW. One bus line for all of these resorts, are you kidding me? A bus pulled up pretty quickly and it was a nightmare. As we rolled the strollers through the cattle corral to the end of the line, we moved ourselves to the side so that we’d be out of the way, and we quickly got the kids out and folded up the strollers. Well everyone behind us pushed and shoved their way past us, so by the time we boarded the bus, it was packed full.

During the whole trip, we had never NOT had someone offer their seats to us when we boarded a bus with all of our kids, except for this night… Ya know, the night that we desperately needed it. I stood and held Bronwyn, while the other three kids, who were standing at my feet, struggled to stay awake and held onto me for dear life. 3, kids right? After the bus had started moving, I looked down and saw Donovan and Jorie....but no Isla. Joe was up at the front of the bus with both double strollers, so close to the bus driver that he could have given him a hug. I yelled up to him asking him if he had Isla. He looked at me with a blank stare... "Umm, No" he says. Panic sets in. Where was Isla? Then I hear a voice say "Is this your daughter?" I turn around and Isla is sitting on the lap of a little old lady. Oh thank goodness!! We laugh about it now, but at the time it was definitely NOT funny at all! She gave me a few extra gray hairs that night!

Oh yeah, it was a fun bus ride.

And then, just to add to the sourness of it all, we found this when we arrived back at our room.



Just a little reminder that we’d be leaving the next day. Boooooo! I was not ready to leave!!

NEXT

 

[momtohms]

So I'm only 9 pages in but I had to stop and comment! I have three little girls who are just a bit younger than your girls are (mine are almost 5, 3 1/2, and almost 2) so reading this has been a BLAST! Especially since the personalities you describe of your girls SO match up with mine. Hilarious! We are planning our first family trip for next spring to Disneyland but I've been browsing trip reports for both parks and had to come out of lurkerdom to say hello Can't wait to finish the rest!

Oh and HUGE fan of the outfits, HUGE.

 

[merbobear]

I'm glad Isla had just pulled up a seat on the bus! Ha! I hate the DME packet hanging on the door. What a rude piece of mail for Disney to leave you

We have had a few times where our dd falls asleep in the stroller and we just have the best time! Of course we have the best time when she's awake and we are all having fun together too, but you know what I mean..it's just nice and quiet for a change!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

More cute dresses! Love them!
What a fantastic way to celebrate your anniversary! Looks like a great dinner and then some "alone" time in WS, perfect!

I just hate it when I get to the room the last night. The last thing I need is a reminder I have to leave, not fun!

I can't wait to see what your kiddos wear to wrap up the night!

 

[TruLovesKiss]

So I'm only 9 pages in but I had to stop and comment! I have three little girls who are just a bit younger than your girls are (mine are almost 5, 3 1/2, and almost 2) so reading this has been a BLAST! Especially since the personalities you describe of your girls SO match up with mine. Hilarious! We are planning our first family trip for next spring to Disneyland but I've been browsing trip reports for both parks and had to come out of lurkerdom to say hello Can't wait to finish the rest!

Oh and HUGE fan of the outfits, HUGE.

Happy to have you here! I'm so glad that you commented! Aww, you have 3 girls too.... yup so you can totally relate. And yay for planning your first trip! Your family is going to have so much fun! There's nothing better than seeing those little eyes light up with Disney excitement.

I'm glad Isla had just pulled up a seat on the bus! Ha! I hate the DME packet hanging on the door. What a rude piece of mail for Disney to leave you

We have had a few times where our dd falls asleep in the stroller and we just have the best time! Of course we have the best time when she's awake and we are all having fun together too, but you know what I mean..it's just nice and quiet for a change!

Yup, only Isla!!

Oh that darn DME packet. That night I kind of just put it aside... I really should have opened it and read it... oh you'll see...

I totally know what you mean. You can "turn off" that high alert feeling when they are asleep...it's such a nice break. Guess I didn't quite turn mine back on when we were loading onto the bus... hence why we "lost" Isla. Haha.

More cute dresses! Love them!
What a fantastic way to celebrate your anniversary! Looks like a great dinner and then some "alone" time in WS, perfect!

I just hate it when I get to the room the last night. The last thing I need is a reminder I have to leave, not fun!

I can't wait to see what your kiddos wear to wrap up the night!

Thank you! It was a perfect anniversary ~ a fantastic dinner and then a nice walk around WS. I couldn't have asked for anything better.

There are a few more cute outfits coming up to finish out the trip!

 

[I_Luv_Stitch]

And again another amazing variety of beautiful dresses you girls are wearing
I'm glad Donovan got better as the day went on!
Another two lovely restaurant experiences, and Narcoossees is a lovely choice for an anniversary even with the kids
And I loved how Bronwyn is the youngest and was the only one left still going after your dinner
I LOVE Isla's face in the first TT photo, I'm so glad both of them loved it, such a good ride!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Oh wow, I was really curious when you said you were going into Tough to be a Bug. Absolutely shocked all the kiddos enjoyed it. Glad certainly, but still shocked.

Haha, nobody can find the Mickey/Minnie Meet and Greet. Hidden in plain site!!

Hehe, noticed the smiling Isla picture at Sanaa was complete with sunglasses.

Oh My GOD!!!! How incredibly nice of you to pay for another family's dinner on your own anniversary!!!! So Sweet!!

Test Track walk on??? I think this is fate's way of telling you... Good decision in coming over. Such a shame you can't see the kids in the second photo. Haha, it does seem that the back row get more hair whip!!

Ah boo no School Bread!

I agree Rachel, nothing says romance quite like a UK telephone booth (sorry I couldn't resist).

Oh dear. I guess the benefit of staying at a Monorail resort is only a benefit if the monorail is actually running. And then to have all those people have to pile onto a bus. A little less magical I imagine. And I will NEVER understand people not offering a seat to someone holding a child, not to mention FOUR sleeping children.