21 people, 2 ECV's, 3 strollers - My Dream Trip Update 8/16 Day 5, 6 & 7 The end

Hope everyone had a good holiday and Happy New Year!

Day 1 continues

When I left off we were headed to our ADR. Beth chose most of the [laces we were to eat at because I let her for the most part. I learned when she was a baby to pick my battles. I didn't mind todays choice as I love it there and it would be fun for the kids. Where did we eat you ask? Teppan Edo! I know it is typical hibachi but the food is decent and the kids never ate at that type of place before.

We knew we weren't going to be at the same table but we were in the same room and next to each other so it was close.

Beth's table



My gang




Benny



We ordered and I had the Asakusa, my go to meal. I love the combination of steak and shrimp. Jay and Jim had steak and chicken, Mikey had just steak, everyone else had just chicken. Since Z and Ella were on the kids plan they had Miso soup. Z wanted nothing to do with it so i tried it. It's a little salty but OK. I did get Mikey to try a piece of the Tofu and he liked it. Mikey is a seriously picky eater, partly because of his sensory issues with textures. My shrimp was first on the plate and I know this is an odd picture


Mikey tried a piece of shrimp and he LIKED IT!!!! He actually ate a whole shrimp and didn't gag. I was so proud of him. He even ate about 1/3 of his rice, another troublesome food. He loved the Japanese "spaghetti" and even managed a vegie or 2. This was a major accomplishment for him. Of course I needed a restroom break and just after I left the table they brought out Ella's birthday dessert


While everyone finished up their desserts I paid our "bill", the tip. Free dining is not free! The boys were antsy so I took Mikey and Z down with me and they ran down the steps. They had some energy to burn. As i got my ECV I noticed that the Daruma Vendor was getting ready to start so we sat and watched.


They actually sat still and listened. I tried to get some facts about the Daruma doll. My church has a holiday tea and this year it was Internationally themed with customs around the world. The boys with the Daruma Vendor


The boys and I waited for everyone else and I began to wonder what the hold up was. I left Jennifer, Beth and DML to deal with Jim. He has 2 speeds - slow and stopped. He isn't seeing well especially at night and it was starting to get dark out. If I try and help him he gets MAD!!! I know it's the stroke but it gets tiresome so I gave hm and I both some space. Mikey borrowed my camera to take a picture of a Hidden Mickey


Finally Crystal came out to get me because Jim had gotten a pearl for me - AGAIN!!! I seriously have so many pearls at this point that I can start a necklace, ok maybe a bracelet. I have at least 15 pearls from past trips and all still in their little bags.

Finally done in Japan we were on our way to our last FP+. Dinner was at 3:30 PM and it was now after 6. Table service meals take a chunk of time. The last FP was for Frozen Ever After so we were off to Norway. I got through the FP entrance and waited, and waited, and WAITED!!! Finally everyone caught up to me and my Jennifer was MAD!!! This girl never gets angry, she is the most easy going person I know. She actually YELLED at someone for cutting Jim off. I knew at least 30 people had passed me. It turns out that as Jim was trying to get through the MB check point they were "climbing" over him. She had a major melt down. No one would slow down to let him in. I am used to it having made a few trips in an ECV. Finally someone, I think the CM, saw what was happening and stopped the line to let Jim get through.

This is a pet rant of mine. I get that people all want to get through to the same ride but a little common courtesy goes a long way. Jim HATED needing to be in that thing. I hated that he needed it because I know it was one more thing he had to acknowledge losing, his mobility. This just added to him feeling like he was a burden to us. Thankfully my girls and Jay made sure he was OK!

Finally on the ride this made the whole issue worth it.


And that was not staged. I have learned with Ella to watch and I will get the one picture that defines happiness. This was it.

I made my way through the stores after the ride and took some night pictures of the area. I hate using flash and am getting better with night exposures




We decided at this point to head out. We were all exhausted. We had been up since around 3 AM and on the go the whole day. I still hadn't received a text about our rooms although i did check the app and found room numbers on there. I just hoped they were ready.

I took a few pictures as we headed out









We skipped Illuminations to avoid the crowds. So the park summary: 8 hours, 3 rides, 1 meal, 1 story teller and 1 constantly lost husband. This could be a LONG trip at this rate.
 
Day 1 the end and photopass pics

We did manage to avoid a long line at the bus stop and got both ECV's on the same bus. I was really tired and when I got off of the bus I managed to crush my wrist into a pole on the bus. I usually manage one dumb incident a trip but this was only day 1. The wrist was pretty banged up and bothered me the rest of the week. I just wanted to find our rooms and chill. I was NOT happy. The building was about as far away as you could get from the food court so not what I requested at all. Then i found the rooms. Beth and I were connected. We did NOT want to be connected. Jen and DML were 3 hallways from us and not at all convenient for the ECV drop off. They were also not connected. The friends rooms were even further away. I was NOT HAPPY.

I understand that requests cannot always be honored but I had some minor requests and one major request. I could live with the building being farther away than I wanted. The travel agent made sure that the requests were made right to the resort and that we were a group. I was tired, low on caffeine and this is never a good combination. We were off to the front desk.

There were some bigger issues to be dealt with. For one thing I wasn't happy that we never received a text about the rooms. Bill and Anthony could not use their magic bands to get in their room. Jennifer and DML were next to each other but not ONE magic band worked on either door. We spent almost 2 hours at the desk AGAIN!!! And had to make multiple trips back and forth. When Jennifer and DML finally got in their rooms they weren't connected. This was solved by making the magic bands work on both rooms, or was it???

The solution was they could move us all the next day to different building and gave everyone 3 extra FP's for the next day but they had restrictions on them. I plugged my ECV into an outlet in the corridor between Beth's and my room and got ready for bed. I was tired and angry, not a great combination. Jay was off to Bell Services and all of the rooms in search of his one suitcase. He was upset because this suitcase had all of his SHOES!!! Seriously I should have taken a picture, he had 7 pairs of shoes with him and they were not cheap shoes. He did find them eventually.

Jen, DML and I were the most upset by all of this. Honestly in 22 trips I have never had such issues and our complaints fell on deaf ears. Jennifer's MB never worked to pay for a meal the entire trip. Bill and Anthony were never able to get into their room with their MB's. I had to hike back to my room at night and to Jen's room in the morning for the ECV which meant I had to work on her schedule. She is not an early riser so I would have to go back to the rooms after she woke up to pack up what i needed for the day. Hopefully in the light of day I would be in a better frame of mind!

Some of Beth's pictures from Day 1 and photopass pics


The boys were still waiting on shoes


Anthony and Zack


Beth, Bill, Jay and the boys




 
Sorry for the wait but my husband's friend lost his wife unexpectedly. She passed away in her sleep from an embolism at only 52 years. It was a difficult loss as they found love so late

To deal with the sadness let's move on to DAY 2

I wake up way to early on vacation, any vacation. This day was no exception. I grabbed a shower, my mug, camera and notebook and headed out for the food court and coffee. This was my view from the room


When I got outside the room my scooter was gone. I had parked it in the corridor and it wasn't there. I figured it was stolen or moved by the resort CM's. I was to low on caffeine to care so I walked to the food court.

Saw these cute cakes and they looked really good




I was tempted but they looked too sweet for my taste and I wasn't sure what the plans were for food with everyone else. I got my coffee and found a table. I wrote my notes up from the day before. The camera helped because pictures jogged my memory. After I was done the much needed coffee I wandered the resort and took some pictures.

The wreaths all had a sport theme


[url=https://flic.kr/p/22A4wZK]


My favorite - Baseball. We live for baseball season in my house, or I do anyway






The Lobby


I headed back to the room to get Jim and Jay moving. Jay was easy, he showered at night, but wasn't an early riser. Jim is worse than most women. Seriously!!!! I am in the shower, dressed and ready to go in 10 minutes, 15 at most. Jim takes at least a half hour. And that's just to shower. Then he still needs to get dressed. Honestly he can get annoying with how slow he is. I didn't mind as much this day because I figured I had to hunt down my scooter or call Walker. I was heading to find Jennifer after getting the guys going when there she was riding down the hall on the scooter. She grabbed it the night before after the rooms got opened but I was already sound asleep. I was tired!

The girls had decided that the new building we were offered was even further away than where we were and everyone else decided they didn't want to pack up and move. We stayed where we were. I still was upset with the whole thing but decided to Let It Go! We headed back to the food court for breakfast. They decided they were hungry and wanted to eat before we left for the parks. I took Mikey and Crystal with me. I was easy - Bounty Platter. It has enough food to keep me going, I just got all bacon. Crystal saw Chocolate Chip Pancakes so she was set. Mikey couldn't make up his mind. Then he saw the omelets. Then he saw the BACON omelet. He died and went to heaven. That boy LOVES his bacon. Bacon Omelet and a side of bacon what could be better. Food on trays we got in line. Crystal paid for her food, no problem. I paid for my food, no problem. Mikey tried his MB and it wouldn't work. He tried a different number it wouldn't work. The line was growing, my food was getting cold and I was getting frustrated. We tried to find his mother but she wasn't answering her phone. I was losing it. The very nice CM let us just go.

I had cold food, YAY!!! We ate and I took Mikey to get his MB reset and LOST HIM!!!!! In the lobby! I went back to find Jennifer and he wasn't there. He saw an arcade and in he went. Mikey has Autism and ADHD, a fun combination. I expected to lose him in the parks, not the lobby of the resort. Got the MB straightened out, told them we would not be switching buildings but that I found the entire situation totally unacceptable.

I wanted to be on our way to the parks every day by 9. We were on the bus at 9:56 AM, an hour later than planned.
My crew liked the back whenever they could get it


And a rare picture of Jay


Our destination


And some decorations


My notes break here so I will continue on in the next post.[/url]
 
Glad to catch up! I was looking forward to seeing how your trip went. All the planning, and changes. I was stressed out for you. Haha. You are so sweet to do this for your family and friends.
 


Glad to catch up! I was looking forward to seeing how your trip went. All the planning, and changes. I was stressed out for you. Haha. You are so sweet to do this for your family and friends.

Glad you are still following along. There were some stressful moments. And Thank You. Don't know if I am sweet or insane but I was lucky enough to have the money to do this for everyone.

Update to follow.
 
Day 2 continues

As we entered the park the kids saw Daisy and wanted to get in line, all but Z anyway. My grandkids like to make faces

A more serious picture


We were heading for our first FP+ but saw these characters. They drew Ella into the act because of her birthday button




On our way again our destination was in sight


I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas was playing and my family skipped down the street singing along


It's hard to tell from a still photo but trust me they were skipping and singing. Our FP+ was for Tower of Terror. Z refused to go on it and Jim really couldn't anyway so he stayed behind. Ella was thrilled to be big enough this trip and Mikey was a little scared.

My gang in the lobby


And the 2 Crystals


Ride photo says it all. Ella was TERRIFIED and Mikey couldn't take the noise but loved it - it was AWESOME!!!


We calmed Ella down and the big "kids" wanted to go on Rock N Roller Coaster. Z said NO, Jim can't and the kids said YES! I told Mikey I would go on with him since he faced his fear with TOT so I would go on too. Now I am NOT a fan of coasters in general, I am definitely NOT a fan of coasters that can go upside down, but for Mikey I would face my fear. The stand-by was only 30 minutes and I was shaking every one of those minutes. As we got closer I was really praying for a miracle. I got it. Ella backed out, Crystal backed out and then Mikey couldn't take the noise anymore and said no way. I lucked out. Jennifer, Jay and DML loved it.

We debated what to do at this point, characters or TSMM. We had FP+'s for the ride and decided rather than risk it we would head there. Jim for some reason misunderstood everything and went the wrong way. Jay caught up to him and he told Jay he would be there in the sun waiting, he already saw Chewbacca. Nobody understood that but oh well on the ride we went.
The boys




Some of the party had to go up the stairs and they actually got off the ride before we did. Having the scooter does not get you preferential, front of the line treatment. Everyone had a great time and I had the highest score of everyone.

A Galaxy Far, Far Away was getting ready to start so we headed there to try and get a decent spot. While I took the kids Jen and DML went to get some drinks for them.




We didn't wind up with the greatest view but the kids enjoyed it




Show over we headed to meet a Wookie and a Bad Guy. While we waited in line the Stromtroopers went by. Ella was a little indignant that they ignored her




She was happy again






We all had Star Wars shirts on and Chewbacca loved Mikey's shirt. Kylo Ren was not feeling the love for Ella's shirt - it was Princess Leia.




I wanted to see BB8 but the line was really long and Jim was still outside somewhere. I worried about him getting a sunburn as he insisted on sitting in the sun with no block on and some of his meds could cause an issue. He never listens to me and Beth wasn't with us to tell him i was right. She's a nurse so of course she knows better than me about everything in his thick head. She did tell him I was right later that day.

To be continued
 
I haven't forgotten this for those that have been reading along just my normal if something can go wrong it will life. My computer died, 1 month after the warranty was up so still getting things going on the new one. Then my granddaughter was in the hospital for a week with severe anemia. Of course my car decided to act up and needed suspension work. NEVER visit Philadelphia in the winter, the potholes are murder.

On the plus side I did get a new computer, my granddaughter may finally have a diagnosis for her problem but no good fix yet, and my car is better for the most part. I hope to get some updates going soon.
 


I haven't forgotten this for those that have been reading along just my normal if something can go wrong it will life. My computer died, 1 month after the warranty was up so still getting things going on the new one. Then my granddaughter was in the hospital for a week with severe anemia. Of course my car decided to act up and needed suspension work. NEVER visit Philadelphia in the winter, the potholes are murder.

On the plus side I did get a new computer, my granddaughter may finally have a diagnosis for her problem but no good fix yet, and my car is better for the most part. I hope to get some updates going soon.
Ugh, that just sounds like a bunch of bad luck. But hopefully your granddaughter will be able to find out what’s wrong!
I look forward to seeing the rest of your trip!
 
Ugh, that just sounds like a bunch of bad luck. But hopefully your granddaughter will be able to find out what’s wrong!
I look forward to seeing the rest of your trip!

I always say that if it wasn't for bad luck I would have no luck at all. The computer issue will actually make it into the end of this report. We have a pretty good idea what is wrong just need to find a fix that can help. She hit the genetic time bomb and has other issues but she is alive and that's all I care about. I am hoping to update tonight or tomorrow at the latest.

Just found this. All caught up and following along for more! :)

:welcome:Thanks for joining in. I am looking for my notes and trying to remember my Flickr password again. Hopefully tonight or tomorrow will see an update.
 
Found my notes, still can't remember my Flickr password but managed to log in and have my coffee so let's finally get an update going.

When last I posted we were done seeing some characters and looking for Jim. We headed off to my favorite ride in Hollywood Studios - Star Tours. I actually rode it 7 times in one day my last trip and got to be the Rebel Spy. I took some pictures along the way








And we made it. Jim actually did go on this ride. He is not as big a fan as I am but the kids kind of forced the issue


We had an ADR in Disney Springs so at this point we had to start out. The girls wanted to see a duck so we stopped. Some of the party was not as interested


Donald Duck is usually a fun interaction. When my Beth was little he hid the Mickey Mouse on her shirt with his hand and told her to get a new shirt.


After the nice posed picture he started to tickle the girls


We headed over to the bus stop and then the fun started. I had mistakenly thought that there was a bus to Disney Springs. There is after 4 PM. It was only 2:30. Beth then called to tell me the same thing. She had already left and headed back to All Star Sports. I knew that our best option was either Port Orleans French Quarter for the boat or Saratoga Springs for the walkway. We opted for Saratoga Springs.

Now when we are having a string of problems they get worse. We had ADR's at 3:15, 3:30 and 3:45. It was 2:30 and the buses were running really SLOW!!! When we got to the resort and off at the right bus stop, there are several there, I told the girls to hurry Jim up as best they could. I took the 2 boys and off we went to hopefully get checked in. The friends were already there but no sign of Beth. Evidently the buses to Disney Springs were ALL having issues as she was still at All Star Sports and the arrival time kept changing.

The people at T-Rex were awesome and checked us in so I wouldn't be charged as a no show and said we would be seated once everyone got there. I took a few pictures






The kids played in the play area, the big kids too.






Finally at 4:15 we were all there and finally getting seated.
 
We were seated at 2 tables but they were right next to each other so that was nice. We knew that was a possibility at most of the restaurants since we were a large group.
Beth's family


Mikey and Z




The view from our table.


I am not a huge drinker but I was really stressed out so I got a Lava Flow: Malibu Coconut Rum, Pina Colada mix and Strawberry Puree in a souvenir glass for $14.99


DML had the Caveman Punch. Not sure giving some one who has the nickname with Dizzy in it was a good idea but we had fun


I wanted to take all electronics from them at this point as they took center stage. Then I decided to let it go as they were behaving


Ella mugged for pictures


A rare picture of me enjoying my libations with Jim in the background. He wouldn't take his hat off.


Another view from where we sat


Finally our food arrived.
Jim had Meteor Meat Loaf with Barbecue sauce, mashed potatoes, vegetables and onion strings


Mikey had NY Strip Steak with Waffle Fries, I did take his electronics from him at this point


I had the Triassic Trio: Shrimp and Scallops, Shrimp Skewer with Chimichurri sauce and chargrilled flat iron steak with Raptor Rice. This was really good


I didn't get pics of everybody's food but Ella and Z had kids burgers, DML and Jennifer had burgers, Jay had the NY Strip Steak and Crystal had Lasagna. We also shared 2 orders of Mozzarella sticks. We were all hungry and enjoyed the food quite a bit. I took pictures in between bites. Wyatt was having a lot of fun


For dessert we combined and got 2 Chocolate Extinctions to share


Ella got her Birthday Dessert


As did Makiyla. I think she was a little more embarrassed by the attention but Danielle thanked me for remembering to have her birthday on the reservations


Now one of the things I made sure of on every ADR was that we had a peanut allergy. I even checked with some of the restaurants in March to make sure they had a good peanut allergy policy. Beth was in a mood when we left the restaurant because even with all of that and making sure she told them several times they put peanuts on Ben's dessert. I was angry and wanted to go back and say something but Beth told me to forget it.

My "Free" meal cost me $50! Tips an appetizer and drink added up quickly. This was one choice I did not want as far as the ADR's went. The kids all loved it and the food was good so I wasn't unhappy with that aspect of the choice. Solo or adults only trip I will skip it. I did mention that drinks and Dizzy do not go together. Somehow we wound up with 4 souvenir glasses from 2 drinks. I do not know what happened other than DML took our 2 and rinsed them out and put them in her bag. The waitress brought out 2 clean ones in bags. I was completely innocent in all of it but I blame Alcohol and DML not being a good mix.
 
We were leaving the restaurant at 6:45 PM. That was over 4 hours after we left the park and 2 1/2 hours after we were seated for our late lunch. This was one thing that annoyed me the whole trip. So much park time was lost because of wasted time at meals. We headed to the bus stop and I of course took pictures








There was no direct bus back to Hollywood Studios so we headed to the first bus due in - Old Key West. There was another couple doing the same thing as we were and I struck up a lovely conversation with them, mostly the husband as his wife was deaf. Jim got really angry! One of the side effects of the strokes is he gets irrational and has mood swings. It has been an adjustment to say the least. This was a bad temper outburst. Even the kids were looking at him oddly. He was convinced the man was trying to pick me up - with his wife sitting right there, and that I was leaving him. Thankfully this nice couple did not hear Jim as they were on the same bus as we were again. When we got to the park this very nice gentleman went up to my kids and dolt of a husband to tell them to treasure me as I was a very NICE LADY!!! Jim said nothing because he was still coming out of his mood but the girls thanked him and said they knew. I was embarrassed. I was just trying to be nice and didn't expect such complements.

We got back to the park at 8 PM! I wasted an entire afternoon. We got to see a glimpse of fireworks and some of the laser show.












And we made it in time for Fantasmic. When we were down in 2012 the kids missed the show so I really wanted to see it








All in all we had a good day. I didn't enjoy wasting so much time for a meal but I did enjoy being with the family so I guess it evened out for the most part.

When we got back to the resort we got some ice cream sundaes,. 2 snack credits down only 34 more to go! I also got a new wrinkle thrown at me - Danielle and Yoko wanted out of the Crystal Palace ADR. I told them I would try but there were no guarantees and they would have to get something as a replacement on their own.

Some of Beth's pictures and photopass


My oldest and youngest grandchildren








I love this one. We were so worried about Wyatt with characters and he was thrilled to meet his Olaf










Day 2 is in the books. What will Day 3 bring???
 
Catching up - just got back from my whirlwind double trip. Took one daughter to the cheer comp in Disney and then the other daughter to a gymnastics meet at disney a week later. Such a great experience but I was wiped out!

We haven't done TRex yet. I'm with you though. I don't like losing so much park time for dining. We usually go during free dining so have one sit down a day. It ends up being way too much food.
 
Catching up - just got back from my whirlwind double trip. Took one daughter to the cheer comp in Disney and then the other daughter to a gymnastics meet at disney a week later. Such a great experience but I was wiped out!

We haven't done TRex yet. I'm with you though. I don't like losing so much park time for dining. We usually go during free dining so have one sit down a day. It ends up being way too much food.

I saw the cheerleaders practicing for a competition last year. It looked like they really work hard at it. Lucky you 2 trips so close together although I know from a friend how exhausting it can be. She had 2 teams down in December for Pop Warner and then another football competition.

T Rex is a nice restaurant if you are planning down time, or time in Disney Springs. We did have free dining but the logistics and the amount of people we had was not easy getting from place to place.
 
I fell behind and misplaced my notes. Found the notes so let's move on to Day 3

My routine is somewhat routine! I was up early and showered. Grabbed my mug, notebook and camera and was off. It was early




And the long walk to the food court



I had my coffee and wrote out the notes from the day before. It is a relaxing way for me to start the day, especially with this gang. Eventually they all joined me and we had breakfast in the food court. I took no pictures of the food here but it was standard breakfast food. My plans were to be on our way and at the parks by 9 AM. We made it around 9:20 so I was happy. I did get a pic of the girls with their cross body bags. A friend I made here on the DIS makes them and the girls loved them.


We had a FP+ for Test Track so that was our first destination. I took a picture of the monorail and got Jay leading Jim around.


Jay was in the middle under the monorail in a grey shirt. This was our day, hurry up and wait for Jim. He was SLOOOOW!!!! Thankfully we did make it in time for the FP+ and I think Jim skipped the ride. We were split into 4 groups of 2 so I had Crystal with me. They all had a great time designing the cars. This was ours.


The ride was loved by all but of course my gang - Ella - needed a potty break. If one goes they ALL go. While I took the kids to the bathroom Jay was on a quest for a lizard. He has tried to catch one on every trip. He was finally successful.


It was just a baby so that helped but be warned, they BITE!!!


After we had fun with the lizard it was back to the bathrooms to wash hands. They can carry some diseases so better to be safe than sorry.
Next FP+ was for Living with the Land so we were off to the Land and Jim actually did go on this ride.

They were decorating for the holidays






My gang and believe it or not that is Jim happy


Lights in the tanks


Hidden Mickey Snowman




After the ride was done we were off to the World Showcase. The kids were thirsty or hungry and Jim wanted Popcorn so we stopped at the little food stand right there. Ella got a free Mickey Bar for her birthday. I was running low on caffeine so I got a coke and was handed a free ice cream sandwich. I forgot I had my birthday button on. Believe it or not in all my trips this was my first ever Mickey Ice Cream


As we headed back I got a few shots of the Christmas Tree.
66 by Lorrie Knotwell, on Flickr

Great Britain
68 by Lorrie Knotwell, on Flickr

Mexico


And Germany
 
I didn't forget about this report but my life can get busy. I am trying to plan a Surprise party for my mom's 80th birthday. It is not easy as she likes to plan things on her own. So far we have kept her in the dark and invitations have started to go out. The planning is complicated by the fact that my one SIL lives in Virginia about 200 mile away and works and my other SIL is not easy to converse with. My brother just gets told to hand over money for his share. We spent several weeks deciding whether or not to invite my 4th brother. He only talks to the check writing brother. Evidently the rest of us bullied him as a child. I must have missed that part of life, who knew? I finally asked my dad what to do as I had totally mixed emotions. On one hand it would thrill my mother to have him there, on the other hand he can start a LOT of issues at family gatherings, on the next hand he may not show up and that would hurt my mom if she found out. Dad said invite him and let him ignore us as my mom holds no expectations from him - ever. I think dad is wrong but he will get an invite in the mail.

So on to this trip report. When I left off we were in EPCOT

We were headed to World Showcase and somehow lost Jim AGAIN!!! We did see Beth and the boys. While DML went to find Jim I visited my guys. This is a rare treat for the boys as my daughter is super health conscious and they do not get soda. I would love to know what the look on her face was for




We found Jim and Jay left us to join Beth. He was on her ADR so it made sense. We were in Mexico forever. I honestly don't know why but I was getting bored by time we left. Of course I did take pictures though. I love the Day of the Dead asmerchandise


We did get the map to find the Chip and Dale Wreaths.


The boys just sat on the floor to play video games


Finally we moved on to Norway and I got to catch a little of Julesnissen


We lost Jim AGAIN and by time we found him we had to move it to get to our ADR. I could not get us all into Coral Reef as we had hoped so my gang headed to Via Napoli. The kids like Italian food for the most part so it was a good choice. We also got seated together at one table.

Believe it or not this is Jim's HAPPY face. I am adjusting slowly. He always looks mad to me.


Love my family: menus, crayons and electronics.


Our view, it was a little chilly with the wind blowing by but a nice view.


Ella was eating the sauce, or I should say drinking it


Our food choices varied. Jim and I had Veal Parm, Crystal had pasta and shrimp, The kids had pizza and I am not sure what DML had. Jennifer ordered a specialty pizza and hated it. To be fair she had the Prosciutto e Meloni which I recommended but the prosciutto was very fatty.

Ella kept asking if she got a birthday dessert on top of her regular dessert and she kept looking for it




My family is so classy. DML DRANK the chocolate sauce with her Zeppoli


This was a good choice minus the issue with my fussy daughter. The food was good, the service was very good and we all had a good time.

As we left Via Napoli Ella got really excited to see La Befana. Her class had Italian pen pals and she knew who La Befana was. Her teacher tried to plan an exchange trip but the school district would not allow it sadly.


Continued in the next post
 
Continuing on and the posts will be picture heavy

We wandered around exploring World Showcase. I took pictures of the decorations.
I think this is Germany. Lost my notes so winging it for this update






Chip and Dale Wreath. Believe it or not we found them all but forgot to get the "prize" at the end.


On to China. I once collected Buddhas so I like to take pictures of them






Somehow I lost everyone whilst I was here so I watched the acrobats and tried to find out where they all were




We made our way to Norway to meet Anna and Elsa.




And found the wreath


My little Vikings


And the wreath


I wanted to explore American Adventure while they took potty breaks and got something to drink

Found the wreath


And the Gingerbread display.


I love the little details




And as close as I got to the Candlelight Processional. I had no clue who the celebrity narrator was


And one more installment coming
 
I just took pictures and played catch up as I had no clue what my family was doing. Somebody had to guide Jim around though

Found more wreaths. This was France




took some pictires and was surprised to see Jim following me. He has always refused to step foot in the France area. Guess since he was technically not walking it was OK. This was the Buche de Noel. My brother made one for Christmas one year that was amazing. Of course we still talk about it as he used a blow dryer to dust cocoa on his meringue mushrooms to make them look real. Mom was cleaning cocoa powder off dishes for weeks






I played with camera settings for this picture and was happy with the results.


We caught up with everyone in the United Kingdom. Jim got me 2 shirts while we were here. Monty Python and the Holy Grail and I love it. I saw the movie while in college and was the only person in the theater laughing. Everyone else had glazed looks and looked at me like I was insane. Still a favorite movie. He also got me a Clan Fraser shirt. I love the shirt but HATE women's shirts. They are cut way to small. I will wear it as I love Outlander but it isn't a great fit.

I also found the wreath


Moved on to Canada


We had Anthony and Jay with us. We ran into them in Japan and Beth's little ones were worn out. I did have some fun with the 2 little ones giving them rides on the scooter while we waited on their mom to finish some shopping. I just rode the boys around in circles but they loved it. We kept Anthony with us and then promptly lost Anthony, Michael and Z. They needed a rest room and went to the one upstairs at the restaurant. Thankfully after a moment of panic we found them safe and sound and didn't tell Beth about it til much later. I had enough trouble calming DML down as she was sobbing hysterically. I worried but not too much. My only concern was finding them so we could move on. I knew they were OK. DML had wanted to leave the park immediately. I said, "NO!" She just needed to calm down. The boys were fine and I had a talk with them about just giving us a heads up as to where they were headed next time. With DML getting calmer we went on to Test Track


Crystal and I designed a car together


This was Ella's and Jennifer's


Ride photo and a rare one of me with hands in the air. Normally it is the camera taking pictures


The kids spent a lot of time checking out the cars. They ALL wanted this one


And with that we headed out. It was still early enough to miss the crowds for Illuminations and with 2 ECV's that meant a lot. We had a fun filled day and a great meal. I also enjoyed having some time with Beth's boys.

Beth's pics

Beth, Wyatt and Anthony


Bill and Ben



The boys joke that Wyatt is Mommy's boy and Ben is Daddy's boy.

Bill and Anthony look so thrilled on Finding Nemo


Beth and the little boys had fun


This is normal for these 2






The Coral Reef for dinner


And Japan where we ran onto them


One of my favorites that she took of the little boys


And Ben was out for the count


Now to find my notes and upload pictures to FLICKR to finish this trip report. Crashed computers are not fun!
 

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