buzznwoodysmom
03-21-2011, 09:57 AM
This was a special trip for my turning 9 year old son. He's the only one in our family that hadn't yet been able to have a birthday in WDW.
Cast:
Me-Denise
DH-Kevin
DS-Collin 11
DS-Landon (birthday boy) turning 9
DM-Sheila
Resorts:
Wilderness Lodge 7 nights
Animal Kingdom Lodge 2 nights
Saturday, March 5
Today was a day off from the parks. Everyone kept saying “But you’ve only been in one park”. For us that doesn’t matter. We enjoy our days off as much as we enjoy being in the parks. After all it is a vacation, and Kevin doesn’t think being in the parks everyday from open till closing is a vacation. So today we slept in a bit. Once everyone was up and dressed we headed out to Downtown Disney. We find the only way to enjoy DTD is in the mornings. The boys loved Disney Quest last June, but I didn’t really care for it. I love shopping, but Kevin could live without ever having to shop. So the plan was for him to take the boys to DQ and my mom and I shop. First we all headed to Fresh Appeal for lunch. So the main reason to eat at Fresh Appeal was for a healthier selection. Well that didn’t turn out the way we planned. We ended up with fried chicken! It was very good, just not at all healthy! With lunch out of the way off the boys went to DQ and off my mom and I went for shopping. DTD wasn’t too packed today. Within about an hour or two we were done shopping and decided to sit and people watch while waiting for the boys to be done. We waited and waited and waited till finally I just called to tell them we’d take the bus back to WL and they could meet us there later.
Not long after we arrived back at WL the boys came following. We headed for the pool and spent some time there. It’s just not warm enough for Kevin and I to really enjoy the pool. I like to visit in the warmer months so we can really enjoy spending a day at the pool. It wasn’t long and the boys had enough pool time as well. Back in the room I grabbed a few things I wanted to throw in the wash and Kevin and I got ready for our date night. We all headed downstairs. I put some stuff in the wash and my mom was going to tend to it while we were out. Kevin and I headed for the boats and the boys and my mom headed to Roaring Forks for dinner. When we arrive at the boats the line to Ft. Wilderness and the Contemporary was really long. As guests were coming off the boat Kevin and I kept hearing them say stuff like “a lot of angry people”, or “this crowd is getting rowdy”. Kevin and I had no idea what was going on. So then we hear them yelling “is anyone going to the Contemporary”. So we say we are and we are told to walk to the front of the line. When we get to the front there is an angry mob of people that are “running late” for their Hoop de Doo reservation and they are furious that this boat is going to the CR first. The captain keeps trying to explain that the boats run on a certain loop and that the next boat will be headed to Ft. Wilderness first. He gave them the option of getting on his boat and going to CR first or waiting for the next boat. He told them that either boat will probably take about the same amount of time, but these are their options. In the end they decided to take this boat and made sure to let him, as well as us, know that they were all in line before Kevin and I. So we stood to the side while the whole boat filled up, thinking maybe we wouldn’t even get on this boat. In the end we were the last two let on the boat and apparently the only two going to CR. The people on the boat continued to yell, shout, and scream at the boat captain. They were furious. I thought he handled it well. He told them that he would not leave the dock till they all settled down and listened to the safety rules. I felt so bad for him and I was waiting for someone to start a fight. They kept saying “everyone on this boat is going to Ft. Wilderness why can’t you just change your route this one time, we have reservations and we are going to be late”. I wanted so bad to say that we had reservations too and didn’t want to be late for ours either, but this was a fierce crowd and I sure didn’t want to be their target. We had to endure this group of people for the entire trip. They did not let it go. At the CR we were indeed the only two that got off the boat and boy I couldn’t wait to get off that boat. Surely we were hated by all aboard.
So we head to the check in for California Grill and are told by every CM that we encounter that we are in for a treat tonight. I was hoping this meal would live up to the hype. We were seated quickly and let me just say that every single CM we came into contact with at Cali Grill, from the person who checked us in, to the elevator guy, to the waiter, and everyone in between, was just great. We had the best service of the trip here. We ordered drinks while we looked over the menu. We started with one of the sushi platters. I liked what I ate off of it, but Kevin really enjoyed it all. He’s a big sushi fan and CG did not disappoint. Just as we had ordered our main entrees and finished up with the sushi we headed out for Wishes to try and beat the crowd. We timed it perfectly and were among the first few out there with a wonderful view and the rest of the restaurant filled in shortly after us. What an amazing way to view Wishes. I loved every minute of it. Kevin and I said again and again that we will be booking Cali Grill again, and we’ll take the boys with us next time. They would have really enjoyed the fireworks. Back inside our meals were delivered almost as soon as we sat down. I had the fillet of beef and Kevin ordered the veal. Both were excellent. Then we ended our meal with a chocolate cake with strawberries and a strawberry ice cream. This was the best dessert I think I’ve ever had. The ice cream tasted like chocolate covered strawberries. We finished our dinner and headed out. As we were leaving we decided to take a bus to DTD for an hour or two. Kevin joined a cigar club while in Iraq and he still has a cigar from time to time, maybe once a month. He noticed a cigar bar at DTD earlier today so that’s where we decided to go.
We arrived and the bar was full of smoke so I decided to grab a table outside and he went in to get a drink and a cigar. It took him forever in the bar and while waiting I was approached by 3 guys who asked if they could join me. I’m thinking oh great Kevin’s going to come out the bar and find me sitting with 3 guys. Hahaha. I told them my husband was coming, but they could join us if they could find a few chairs to pull up. Just as they are sitting Kevin comes out. We tried to make small talk, but there was just nothing natural about it. Normally we meet people and start talking and it’s a great conversation….well this wasn’t the case. They made me feel very uncomfortable and I was so glad we had taken the bus. I would have been afraid to walk to our car in the parking lot. We did talk to them enough to learn that they were in their 20’s, from New Jersey, were on spring break, and were staying at the Beach Club. Probably a good group of guys, but there was just something about them that made me uneasy. That cut our night short. As soon as Kevin was done with his drink I was ready to go. We hopped a bus and were back at WL in no time.
Up next – Magic Kingdom
Cast:
Me-Denise
DH-Kevin
DS-Collin 11
DS-Landon (birthday boy) turning 9
DM-Sheila
Resorts:
Wilderness Lodge 7 nights
Animal Kingdom Lodge 2 nights
Saturday, March 5
Today was a day off from the parks. Everyone kept saying “But you’ve only been in one park”. For us that doesn’t matter. We enjoy our days off as much as we enjoy being in the parks. After all it is a vacation, and Kevin doesn’t think being in the parks everyday from open till closing is a vacation. So today we slept in a bit. Once everyone was up and dressed we headed out to Downtown Disney. We find the only way to enjoy DTD is in the mornings. The boys loved Disney Quest last June, but I didn’t really care for it. I love shopping, but Kevin could live without ever having to shop. So the plan was for him to take the boys to DQ and my mom and I shop. First we all headed to Fresh Appeal for lunch. So the main reason to eat at Fresh Appeal was for a healthier selection. Well that didn’t turn out the way we planned. We ended up with fried chicken! It was very good, just not at all healthy! With lunch out of the way off the boys went to DQ and off my mom and I went for shopping. DTD wasn’t too packed today. Within about an hour or two we were done shopping and decided to sit and people watch while waiting for the boys to be done. We waited and waited and waited till finally I just called to tell them we’d take the bus back to WL and they could meet us there later.
Not long after we arrived back at WL the boys came following. We headed for the pool and spent some time there. It’s just not warm enough for Kevin and I to really enjoy the pool. I like to visit in the warmer months so we can really enjoy spending a day at the pool. It wasn’t long and the boys had enough pool time as well. Back in the room I grabbed a few things I wanted to throw in the wash and Kevin and I got ready for our date night. We all headed downstairs. I put some stuff in the wash and my mom was going to tend to it while we were out. Kevin and I headed for the boats and the boys and my mom headed to Roaring Forks for dinner. When we arrive at the boats the line to Ft. Wilderness and the Contemporary was really long. As guests were coming off the boat Kevin and I kept hearing them say stuff like “a lot of angry people”, or “this crowd is getting rowdy”. Kevin and I had no idea what was going on. So then we hear them yelling “is anyone going to the Contemporary”. So we say we are and we are told to walk to the front of the line. When we get to the front there is an angry mob of people that are “running late” for their Hoop de Doo reservation and they are furious that this boat is going to the CR first. The captain keeps trying to explain that the boats run on a certain loop and that the next boat will be headed to Ft. Wilderness first. He gave them the option of getting on his boat and going to CR first or waiting for the next boat. He told them that either boat will probably take about the same amount of time, but these are their options. In the end they decided to take this boat and made sure to let him, as well as us, know that they were all in line before Kevin and I. So we stood to the side while the whole boat filled up, thinking maybe we wouldn’t even get on this boat. In the end we were the last two let on the boat and apparently the only two going to CR. The people on the boat continued to yell, shout, and scream at the boat captain. They were furious. I thought he handled it well. He told them that he would not leave the dock till they all settled down and listened to the safety rules. I felt so bad for him and I was waiting for someone to start a fight. They kept saying “everyone on this boat is going to Ft. Wilderness why can’t you just change your route this one time, we have reservations and we are going to be late”. I wanted so bad to say that we had reservations too and didn’t want to be late for ours either, but this was a fierce crowd and I sure didn’t want to be their target. We had to endure this group of people for the entire trip. They did not let it go. At the CR we were indeed the only two that got off the boat and boy I couldn’t wait to get off that boat. Surely we were hated by all aboard.
So we head to the check in for California Grill and are told by every CM that we encounter that we are in for a treat tonight. I was hoping this meal would live up to the hype. We were seated quickly and let me just say that every single CM we came into contact with at Cali Grill, from the person who checked us in, to the elevator guy, to the waiter, and everyone in between, was just great. We had the best service of the trip here. We ordered drinks while we looked over the menu. We started with one of the sushi platters. I liked what I ate off of it, but Kevin really enjoyed it all. He’s a big sushi fan and CG did not disappoint. Just as we had ordered our main entrees and finished up with the sushi we headed out for Wishes to try and beat the crowd. We timed it perfectly and were among the first few out there with a wonderful view and the rest of the restaurant filled in shortly after us. What an amazing way to view Wishes. I loved every minute of it. Kevin and I said again and again that we will be booking Cali Grill again, and we’ll take the boys with us next time. They would have really enjoyed the fireworks. Back inside our meals were delivered almost as soon as we sat down. I had the fillet of beef and Kevin ordered the veal. Both were excellent. Then we ended our meal with a chocolate cake with strawberries and a strawberry ice cream. This was the best dessert I think I’ve ever had. The ice cream tasted like chocolate covered strawberries. We finished our dinner and headed out. As we were leaving we decided to take a bus to DTD for an hour or two. Kevin joined a cigar club while in Iraq and he still has a cigar from time to time, maybe once a month. He noticed a cigar bar at DTD earlier today so that’s where we decided to go.
We arrived and the bar was full of smoke so I decided to grab a table outside and he went in to get a drink and a cigar. It took him forever in the bar and while waiting I was approached by 3 guys who asked if they could join me. I’m thinking oh great Kevin’s going to come out the bar and find me sitting with 3 guys. Hahaha. I told them my husband was coming, but they could join us if they could find a few chairs to pull up. Just as they are sitting Kevin comes out. We tried to make small talk, but there was just nothing natural about it. Normally we meet people and start talking and it’s a great conversation….well this wasn’t the case. They made me feel very uncomfortable and I was so glad we had taken the bus. I would have been afraid to walk to our car in the parking lot. We did talk to them enough to learn that they were in their 20’s, from New Jersey, were on spring break, and were staying at the Beach Club. Probably a good group of guys, but there was just something about them that made me uneasy. That cut our night short. As soon as Kevin was done with his drink I was ready to go. We hopped a bus and were back at WL in no time.
Up next – Magic Kingdom