Grateful, Thankful, Blessed: our 25th Anniversary SeaWorld Celebration (Spring ’18 TR)

[Mrs Doubtfire]

The weather sure does look beautiful. Glad you managed to have a couple of relaxing hours by the pool.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Argh! LOL-tentatively planning on the epic meet up/girls trip first weekend in May! Was hoping you'd overlap into May
I was looking at same weekend as you are going this year in October-but middle kid's regional band competition moved to that weekend this year

And yes-you must get back into Wisconsin. Haven't been back in many years but I'll bet the old timers in the cheese stores in central wisconsin will still call me "Bobby's kid" (my dad). My DH (then new boyfriend) was entertained that is how central Wisconsonites "knew" each other-the dairy families were "clans". Even though I didn't live there I spent many summers on the dairy farm growing up (and no idle hands on a farm-I always volunteered to get the cows after a traumatizing experience feeding the chickens-and a vow to never be near a chicken again ROFL!)

As it turns out, it looks like we will be bumping our planned dates back a week...... @chicagoshannon has pointed out that our planned April week is Easter weekend, and there's no way we want to be there then . So a Dismeet might be in our future after all!

So now you have to tell us what happened to give you such a chicken scare! And how you managed to past it and become such a devoted chicken momma .

Gina- your swimsuit cover up is so pretty!

Thank you! I ordered it online and was unsure if I'd like it, but it is so comfy! And I loved the colors .

ours is still the same - I willcheck again in a couple weeks

Fingers crossed your rate dips down as well!

WOW you guys are going to brave Easter crowds?! Good thing you won't be at Disney! Your weather was so nice your whole trip. I am a bit jealous because the very next week we got rain for our ENTIRE trip!

Nope, not brave. Didn't even realize Easter was so late in 2019!! Thanks for the heads up....we will be adjusting our dates and avoiding the holiday like the plague. We like our quiet spring week too much to tread that close to Easter.

We got SO lucky with weather......it was raining as we boarded the plane on our departure day, and I swear it looked like it rained every day for the rest of the month . I felt SO bad for those with May trip dates!! It's so maddening when Mother Nature is that cruel.

The weather sure does look beautiful. Glad you managed to have a couple of relaxing hours by the pool.

We thoroughly enjoyed those few hours of pool time . Enough that we have set aside two afternoons on our October trip to do nothing but swim, lounge and soak up the sun. It was nice to dial down and just RELAX for a spell .

 

[Ruthie5671]

Steve made a beeline straight for the bacon…..and the ham…..and the fried chicken

Those are all protein items - so they are healthy!!! Minus the fat content and breading and grease!!!!!

We spent some time browsing in the Days of Christmas Store (I could spend an entire paycheck in there without so much as batting an eye! )…..

We went in there for the first time on our last trip. I find most holiday themed stores kind of annoying because it is just so much holiday pushed at you. But I LOVED this store. And girl, if the budget had been unlimited, there would have been some crazy shopping going on in there.

Fountains pool .

That is an adorable cover up and you should wear your hair up like that more often - super duper cute!!!

 

[bobbie68]

Hi so glad to be back and enjoyed catching up on your report! I was busy with the teens here and then we went to Cedar Point for 5 days a couple of weeks ago. We took Liv, Charlie and their 2 friends. It was a crazy but fun trip! I am getting excited to do Sea World this year. I am going to look over your report again closer to my trip so I can get some good advice. I will look into the all day dining. The only thing is I have 4 of us so it could be a little expensive. I loved your day at Disney Springs. We haven't been there in about 5 years. I am looking forward to going again. The floats looked amazing and that will be on my list. We love animal encounters and your pics of the penguins are so cute!!

I loved your ring!! That is something I would get too!! What a great gift

We are going to do DC with the SW and Aquatica add on. We are going to probably drive again so I need 2 days each way. I will probably plan a week at the Vistana. We want to look at places to move while we are there so there will be a day trip or two for that. I want some resort time so that will be about it. We are back and forth if we can swing moving there in June/ July but I don't think we can. If not 2020 for sure!

If I want to go in late June, or late July into early August when is the best time to book the Vistana. Is it best to go right through their site? I have only rented one time share before and I found the people on a site and booked through them directly. I appreciate all your help that you can give. I noticed so many pet lovers here I feel right at home. I love the pics of the kitties. It is so nice to be with other cat crazy people

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Those are all protein items - so they are healthy!!! Minus the fat content and breading and grease!!!!!

We went in there for the first time on our last trip. I find most holiday themed stores kind of annoying because it is just so much holiday pushed at you. But I LOVED this store. And girl, if the budget had been unlimited, there would have been some crazy shopping going on in there.

That is an adorable cover up and you should wear your hair up like that more often - super duper cute!!!

You, my friend, are good for the soul . Have I told you lately how much I enjoy having you around??

I hate, hate, hate my hair up.....no matter how many styles I try, I think I always end up looking ridiculous . Like I'm an old woman trying to look like a teenager [and failing miserably]. And it draws attention to my nose.....which, let's just say, is prominent enough that it doesn't need any "enhancing" . I would LOVE to find a fun style to wear my hair up in that doesn't make me feel subconscious or require a personal stylist. Unless his name is Antonio and he talks with an Italian accent .

Hi so glad to be back and enjoyed catching up on your report! I was busy with the teens here and then we went to Cedar Point for 5 days a couple of weeks ago. We took Liv, Charlie and their 2 friends. It was a crazy but fun trip! I am getting excited to do Sea World this year. I am going to look over your report again closer to my trip so I can get some good advice. I will look into the all day dining. The only thing is I have 4 of us so it could be a little expensive. I loved your day at Disney Springs. We haven't been there in about 5 years. I am looking forward to going again. The floats looked amazing and that will be on my list. We love animal encounters and your pics of the penguins are so cute!!

I loved your ring!! That is something I would get too!! What a great gift

We are going to do DC with the SW and Aquatica add on. We are going to probably drive again so I need 2 days each way. I will probably plan a week at the Vistana. We want to look at places to move while we are there so there will be a day trip or two for that. I want some resort time so that will be about it. We are back and forth if we can swing moving there in June/ July but I don't think we can. If not 2020 for sure!

If I want to go in late June, or late July into early August when is the best time to book the Vistana. Is it best to go right through their site? I have only rented one time share before and I found the people on a site and booked through them directly. I appreciate all your help that you can give. I noticed so many pet lovers here I feel right at home. I love the pics of the kitties. It is so nice to be with other cat crazy people

Welcome back! I thought it was odd that you hadn't been around lately. Glad to hear it was all good, fun things that have been keeping you busy . We keep saying we're going to make a trip to Cedar Point (since we're only about 90 minutes from the park now) but have yet to see those plans come to fruition. I had thought perhaps we'd try to squeeze in a visit during their Halloween event, but I've been a bit free with the spending lately . I may have to make it a 2019 must-do.

Honestly, I'd start looking now for SVR and see if you could get a good rate through either renting a villa through an owner (via the TUG Marketplace is a good place to start) or through Skyauction. Summer is going to be tougher to get a low price just to due to demand, but an owner might be willing to rent a week for the cost of their maintenance fees. If you are flexible on dates, hopefully you'll have no problem finding something within your budget.

Speaking of crazy cat people, you might enjoy this photo of Violet. It makes me laugh every time I see it. She was rather annoyed with me last Wednesday when I spent the morning cleaning rather than cuddling.....and boy, was her annoyance written all over her face!! You know EXACTLY where you stand with Miss Vi!

 

[bobbie68]

Hi Gina thanks so much for the info on the sites for Vistana. I will start looking into it now. I am going to try and be a bit flexible to maybe save some money! I will keep you posted and contact you if I have any questions.

Yes it is so busy in the summer with the teens. I feel like I have no time for myself. I know you might not like CP that much due to a lot of coasters, but I think your DH will. We are actually going back for Columbus Day weekend Halloween event. We go every year. We drive out Thursday/Friday and check in on Friday afternoon. We stay at the Hotel Breakers, very pretty resort on the Lake, till Monday morning! They have a good Halloweekends, it is not HHN but it's cool. What I do like is it is included in the gate price. No extra cost for DH and Charlie to do the haunts. Liv and I just stay together with our no-boo necklaces on! ...Every year they sell these bright green neon necklaces that keep the actors away! We DO NOT like that

LOL!! I love the pic of Violet she really does look annoyed!!! Thanks for sharing I have a few that can make some faces with personality.

 

[pattyw]

You know EXACTLY where you stand with Miss Vi!

Same here- my cats, while they like to have a clean house, HATE when we clean. It disrupts their entire schedule!! of napping

Liv and I just stay together with our no-boo necklaces on! ...Every year they sell these bright green neon necklaces that keep the actors away! We DO NOT like that

I would love those BOO necklaces for HHN!! Although, they might think that it's an invitation to scare at Universal!!

 

[dalmatian7]

@verleniahall .... check those rental car rates again, if you haven't done so in a few days. Ours went down by another $27 for October!!

Who are you with? I just checked my Alamo today and there was no change. I was hoping for another $25 before the trip. oh well.

I looked at the picture of you with your hair up and thought you looked so cute, and very young. I have thick heavy hair like yours and I can't take it in the heat at home, let alone Orlando. My sister and I refer to ourselves in pictures as having Florida hair.

I am bummed we won't be doing the same parks as you guys on the same days. I was hoping to run into you if possible. As of this morning, my DD and DH voted to do Discovery Cove over Kennedy Space. This moves all our days around pre and post cruise because of the early DC start time. Maybe another time, or maybe we could share a photopass again in the future.

I am just getting caught up after being off and at the county fair all last week. It was a great week, but very tiring. I also was working on sprucing up my flowers (some that were at the fair as part of our decorations) last night and found this in my ditch lillies.



Just a garden spider, but it gave me No threat so she stays, as long as that is where she stays. And I will no longer be watering flowers barefoot.

 

[Joanna71985]

Speaking of crazy cat people, you might enjoy this photo of Violet. It makes me laugh every time I see it. She was rather annoyed with me last Wednesday when I spent the morning cleaning rather than cuddling.....and boy, was her annoyance written all over her face!! You know EXACTLY where you stand with Miss Vi!

Awwwww!! Look at that face!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Thursday, May 10th: Kobe’s Steakhouse

@chiamarie had had to work most of that particular day, so we scheduled our dinner for a time and location that worked well with her busy schedule. We wanted to make sure she had enough time to pop home and freshen up, as well as take care of her dog and cats, without having to rush to the restaurant. I think we agreed on 6:30 for our time to meet at the Kissimmee Kobe’s on 192 since it was closest to her home and still convenient to SVR. We both rolled into the parking lot within minutes of each other despite the traffic delays that we encountered on the short trek there . Sometimes the congestion in that area can be staggering!!

Erring on the side of caution, we had made reservations just in case they were super busy on that particular evening, but as it turned out, there would have been no wait even without pre-booking at time. We barely had time to check out some of the typical Japanese décor…..like the koi pond ….before we were ushered to our table by the hostess.

As far as seating goes, Kobe’s has “U” shaped tables that are shared between guests, so small parties are combined with other smaller groups at the same table. I’m pretty sure that each table could accommodate somewhere around 10 people comfortably. Once we were seated, a server came over to take our drink orders and meat selections, and it wasn’t long until our chef appeared to begin an evening of culinary entertainment.

When @chiamarie and other posters said there was a LOT of food at Kobe’s, let me assure you that THEY WEREN’T KIDDING . The meal was prepared in rounds, so many that I can’t even recall what each the were (and now I’m wishing I took photos of every single course). Steve seems to recall soup and salad……I’m vaguely recalling soup but then again, I’m not a salad girl. There was a MOUND of grilled veggies that were whipped up on a piping hot grill while knives whipped and clinked and our Japanese chef cracked some wonderfully corny jokes in a thick Asian accent. There were noodles…..oh, my word, they were MOUTH WATERING!!! ...there was fried rice (accompanied by some egg tossing into his chef’s hat) and there was your choice of meat (beef, chicken, shrimp or a combination thereof) and……there was FIRE!

Our chef was seriously fun, and he had our whole table laughing throughout the meal. I was one of the few people at the table who ordered chicken, so he did an over-the-top fowl impression (“bok, bok, bok!”) every time he turned and stirred my meat on the grill. He asked if anyone was in town to visit Disney, and when we said that we had been to Epcot earlier in the week, he whipped us up a “magical” surprise on the grill:

Aw, Mickey .

For the longest time, the food didn’t seem to stop coming…..and while we were eating and eating with gusto (everything was so gosh darn tasty!!) it seemed we hardly were making a dent in the massive piles of deliciousness that had been doled out onto our plates. Steve was a champion and managed to finish the lion’s share of his meal (I know, y’all are shocked by that ) but @chiamarie and I both needed to-go boxes. And big ones. For all that we managed to stuff in our bellies, we probably took as much home as we ate.

Just before our checks were brought to the table, our server appeared with an anniversary surprise for Steve and I:

They also dressed us up in some fancy hats…..which I hesitate to even post evidence of here because the photo is so horrible . I truly hate this picture. But it was a fun memory and we appreciated the spirit of the special attention.

We took a few bites of the cupcakes, and while they were delicious we were hanging precariously on the edge of over-indulgence so we left a good portion of them behind. With plans to end the evening off on a sweet note in Celebration, we had to pace ourselves or suffer the inevitable pains of gluttony.

Kobe’s, as you might have guessed, was a HUGE win: as we waddled our way to the rental vehicle, Steve looked at me and said “I think we need to plan to eat here at least once on EVERY trip”. Even I, finicky eater that I am, thoroughly enjoyed the food: while I took a pass on a few components (no white sauce, no red sauce, no stir fried veggies for me), there was still an abundance of things I loved.......AND SO MUCH OF THEM!!! I seriously could have eaten just the noodles and considered the meal a full-on victory, they were that good. Ditto to the chicken. And the hilarious antics of our funny Japanese chef turned it from “just” a delicious meal into a true vacation experience .

Kobe’s has not seen the last of the Bo-Bina family .

While we SHOULD have been done eating at that point , we had another must-do on the itinerary and we were determined to squeeze it in…..even if it meant squeezing into our pants the next day . T hopped in her car and we jumped in ours, and we headed off in the direction of Celebration: just a hop, skip and jump away.

Wonderland Cookie Dough Café is next.

 

[I-4Bound]

So glad you liked Kobe! We ate there years ago and really enjoyed it. It is a ton of yummy food. My son always wants to eat at our local Japanese steakhouse on his birthday.

 

[afan]

Just a garden spider, but it gave me No threat so she stays, as long as that is where she stays. And I will no longer be watering flowers barefoot.

Just a garden spider? Makes me not want to know what other kinds of spiders you have around you. Eek if I ever found one of those inside the house.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Hi Gina thanks so much for the info on the sites for Vistana. I will start looking into it now. I am going to try and be a bit flexible to maybe save some money! I will keep you posted and contact you if I have any questions.

Yes it is so busy in the summer with the teens. I feel like I have no time for myself. I know you might not like CP that much due to a lot of coasters, but I think your DH will. We are actually going back for Columbus Day weekend Halloween event. We go every year. We drive out Thursday/Friday and check in on Friday afternoon. We stay at the Hotel Breakers, very pretty resort on the Lake, till Monday morning! They have a good Halloweekends, it is not HHN but it's cool. What I do like is it is included in the gate price. No extra cost for DH and Charlie to do the haunts. Liv and I just stay together with our no-boo necklaces on! ...Every year they sell these bright green neon necklaces that keep the actors away! We DO NOT like that

LOL!! I love the pic of Violet she really does look annoyed!!! Thanks for sharing I have a few that can make some faces with personality.

Halloweekends sounds like so much fun!! And the no-boo necklaces are a fantastic idea!! I could have used one of those at my first HHN .

So nice that you ladies can pair up while the guys have each other. The perfect balance .

Same here- my cats, while they like to have a clean house, HATE when we clean. It disrupts their entire schedule!! of napping

I would love those BOO necklaces for HHN!! Although, they might think that it's an invitation to scare at Universal!!

Poor Violet is in for another day of misery tomorrow....Wednesday's are my cleaning days . I'll be doing a lot of apologizing by 2 o'clock tomorrow afternoon and offering some Temptations as a peace offering . Dash, on the other hand, will disappear for the duration. He is afraid of my Dyson, poor little soul.

Who are you with? I just checked my Alamo today and there was no change. I was hoping for another $25 before the trip. oh well.

I looked at the picture of you with your hair up and thought you looked so cute, and very young. I have thick heavy hair like yours and I can't take it in the heat at home, let alone Orlando. My sister and I refer to ourselves in pictures as having Florida hair.

I am bummed we won't be doing the same parks as you guys on the same days. I was hoping to run into you if possible. As of this morning, my DD and DH voted to do Discovery Cove over Kennedy Space. This moves all our days around pre and post cruise because of the early DC start time. Maybe another time, or maybe we could share a photopass again in the future.

I am just getting caught up after being off and at the county fair all last week. It was a great week, but very tiring. I also was working on sprucing up my flowers (some that were at the fair as part of our decorations) last night and found this in my ditch lillies.

View attachment 346754

Just a garden spider, but it gave me No threat so she stays, as long as that is where she stays. And I will no longer be watering flowers barefoot.

I am with Alamo as well, through Costco. Must have been just a temporary drop because its gone back up by the same amount. I am still hoping for a bit more of a decline once Labor Day passes. I would be ecstatic to get the rate down to somewhere between $200 and $225.

That spider is crazy big!!!! I'm never been a fan of creepy crawlies, but after my bite earlier this summer, I despise them even more. Be careful around those little buggers, some of their relatives can pack a nasty punch. I am sure I probably shared this picture with you a few months ago, but this was the product of my encounter with a spider in my gardens:

I even have a scar now. I hate spiders!!!!

You guys are going to have a blast at Discovery Cove......I think it will be a perfect compliment to your cruise vacation. Refresh my memory.....have you been before, or is this a first for your family? And will you be doing the dolphin swim or the day resort?

Awwwww!! Look at that face!

The face only a mother could love!!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

So glad you liked Kobe! We ate there years ago and really enjoyed it. It is a ton of yummy food. My son always wants to eat at our local Japanese steakhouse on his birthday.

I'm a little disappointed that we can't work it into our October plans. But you can bet your boots we'll be dining there on our Spring trip!!!

We have a Benihana close by.....I wonder if they are similar to Kobe's?

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Just a thought ..... there are several of us travelling right around the same time in the fall. If anyone wants to see if Dismeets might be workable with any of the other great people who are active readers and posters on my threads, you are welcome to post your dates and parks here to see if they overlap with anyone else. It very well might be that a few of you might be in the same parks on the same days, and could arrange to meet up and say hello. Feel free to share as much of your plans as you're comfortable with .

 

[I-4Bound]

I'm a little disappointed that we can't work it into our October plans. But you can bet your boots we'll be dining there on our Spring trip!!!

We have a Benihana close by.....I wonder if they are similar to Kobe's?

Yes, similar concept. I've never eaten at Benihana. You should give it a try#

 

[AntimonyER]

My family loves Japanese Steakhouses. My wife's BDay is Aug 2, and we went to the local one that we prefer here in Savannah. Food was great as usual. The only snafu was I had gotten my wife her favorite cake for her birthday, and the waitress had taken it back to the kitchen until the end of our meal. Well when it was time to bring it out, she disappeared for a LONG time. When she came back, it was obvious she has been crying, and I knew. She had dropped the cake. When she tried to explain what happened she burst into tears again and had to excuse herself. Finally another waitress and the manager came over to explain, and took us to the kitchen to show the mess. My wife and I felt so bad for her, of course we knew it was an accident, and were touched she was so concerned for our experience. We made sure to let her know we understood it was an unfortunate accident, and we probably were better off NOT eating cake after that meal. Of course the management is GREAT there, and they MORE than made up for the loss of the cake, cupcakes for all (so much for not eating cake), the ENTIRE STAFF sang her happy birthday, and 50% off our bill.

 

[bobbie68]

I will have to remember Kobe's when we go down next year! We love hibachi style food. Charlie took Liv to one on Monday for a date. It is one of her favorites and close by! I think the hats are adorable and that is a nice pic, what a nice memory

I have heard about HHN and I don't think Liv and I could attend at night! I really like the no boo necklaces it is so nice to walk around and know I won't get scared!

 

[pattyw]

Kobe looks wonderful, Gina!

That spider bite is nasty!! I hate spiders!!

@AntimonyER - That's too bad about your wife's birthday cake- but so nice that they made up for the accident and made your wife's birthday celebration special!

The list of must do restaurants always grows when I read your TR's!

 

[chicagoshannon]

Kobe looks fun and delicious! Now you have 2 days to get the cookie dough post up before I leave on vacation.