Heat, Humidity, and Our Favorite Disney Dog Was a Thug! LINK TO NEW PTR!!

[RGirl]

Love her Mermaid Makeover! How cute is that bathing suit!? Glad you had a good time at lunch! Your burger looks yummy! (I often eat mine without the bread!)

Thanks! We really had a wonderful time at lunch. I truly don't mind the bun-less burgers. It's a treat once in a while to get a gluten-free bun, but I have no complaints about the naked burger.

What a treat to have lunch in the MDR!! I'm hoping to do that a few times....nice to get table service!!

It was so nice! I highly recommend it. The menu is good, service is good, decor is good - you can't go wrong!

Great update!

Thanks!

 

[RGirl]

Welcome back!! Glad you had a great trip!
Fun update! Looks like a fun little restaurant.
Willow's suit is just too cute!!!

Thanks! It was a great lunch.

A royal throne and a Mickey bar at lunch? Could it get any better???

I think we would all feel a little better about our days if we could sit in a royal throne and eat a Mickey bar after lunch.

I could not agree more!!!!

Your burger looks good. I often eat mine without the bun - thinking that getting rid of the bread might help get rid of a few pounds. So far that train of thought hasn't worked.....

I hear ya! If the burger is good though, you really don't need the bun, right?

Gahh, I have so much catching up to do!!

No worries! I feel like I am constantly playing catch-up on here. There are so many great TRs and DRs, it's hard to keep track of them all and find the time to read and comment. It's so nice that so many people make the effort.

I love all of the character pics! Good to know that the lines can get long if we ever get to do DCL. That's definitely one major thing that sets Disney apart!

They are so efficient in moving the lines along that it is never really too bad. And there is so much live music and other guests to chat with - we never felt like we waited an insanely long time. Helps that you are in the A/C too!

Mmm, cruise food! It looks so delicious. And at first I was like, "aww, Willow ditched you!" but then I thought about how nice it might be to relax by yourself - reading and a glass of wine sounds pretty awesome to me! Especially Rosa Regale and that awesome seat! I love some good "me" time. Maybe they need a husbands club on the next cruise so I can get some of that!

It really was lovely. Neither one of us gets much "me" time, so I think we both enjoyed that. And you can never go wrong with Rosa Regale!

The soda machines are a big plus as well. Other cruises charge for soda, which drives me nuts. I'm a soda addict but I'm not paying a ton of money for something that should be so cheap, so I often go without soda on cruises

I think it is a nice touch. We don't drink soda, but we loved being able to get iced tea, lemonade, coffee, and cocoa so easily. It was incredibly convenient.

That beaded bag your mom made is amazing! Crafting obviously runs in the family!

Her bags are incredible! I don't come close to her craftsmanship.

That champagne brunch looks incredible. Do you mind if I ask how much it cost?

Oh gosh - I don't mind, but I can't remember. I think the Remy meals are $70, and then you pay an additional fee for the champagne or wine pairing. The brunch was amazing - highly recommend!

Oh my, the characters in their formal wear! I love it! Minnie looks gorgeous. I really like her peacock feathers! And that's too funny about Willow asking them if they were married. Mickey and Minnie have been together for quite awhile... time to put a ring on it, Mickey!

I am insane for the characters in formal wear - it does not get better than that!!! I was dying that Willow was so obsessed with their marital status!

I'm getting so jealous of your cruise! Haha animator's looks so good. I love all of the décor!

You should definitely book a DCL cruise!!!

Good for you for juggling two TR's! I've been debating whether I want to start my February TR, while I'm still doing my Dec. one. Like you I'm worried I'll forget some of the details if I wait too long.

I am really struggling with it, but I would have forgotten EVERYTHING about both trips by now if I had waited. So it is worth giving it a try. I feel like it asks a lot of readers, but I'm so grateful that so many people have stuck in and followed me over to the DLR board too.

I want to ride the Aquaduck! That looks like so much fun.

Again, you so need to book a cruise!

As I mentioned on your other TR, those cupcake shirts are so cute! I have a feeling they would be really popular with people. Who doesn't love Disney and cupcakes??

Thank you so much! I am having so much fun designing and making them for Willow and now for a couple of DISers too!

Gorgeous toes! I've only gotten a pedicure twice in my life - once for prom, and once for my wedding. But it was heavenly both times! I just can never bring myself to spend the money, but a cruise seems like the perfect time to splurge!

I don't spend money on them anymore either - I choose to save that money (along with a lot of other money ) for vacations, so that just made the splurge that much more special.

Ahhh I love Princesses! Don't know if I would wait quite that long, but what an awesome meet and greet. And that's a fantastic Snow White, remembering Willow's name and all! What special experience.

It was definitely worth the wait - a fabulous princess-filled meet with a bonus Aladdin. Willow was in heaven!

The mermaid make over is so darn cute! When will they have BBB for grown-ups?? Haha.

Right????

I am getting a kick out of all the mac and cheese that Miss Willow is eating! Hey, when you love something you love it, so don't pass it up, right?

I guess! I am pretty lenient on that stuff when we are on vacation. I figure she doesn't eat that at all at home (other than from-scracth), so it's totally cool for her to have it at every meal on vacation.

I can't take how absolutely adorable willow is in her maid outfit! she looks so incredibly happy and like she is having the best day of her life! what a great mom you are! (apparently we should remember these moments for when the teen years strike! )

Awww - thank you! We really had a lot of fun together that day. I can't think about the teenage years - it's too scary!!!

that throne is AWESOME! who wouldn't want to sit there! the ship is so pretty! I don't think I'll want to leave it when we finally get to cruise.

It really is just too amazing - no pictures can do it justice. The only downside is that, once you have gone on one DCL cruise, you can't NOT go on another.

 

[RGirl]

Real Life Update: Spring Break!​

So, for anyone who is interested, I thought I would post a little update about our Spring Break trip. Feel free to scroll on by - I will post a trip update shortly.

We live about 4 hours from Portland, Oregon, and that was our first stop on the trip. Willow was very excited to be on break!

​

In Portland, we always stay at the downtown Embassy Suites. It is like no other Embassy Suites. See what I mean - this is the lobby:

​

My mom came with us and sprung for the two-bedroom suite, which was just lovely. Won’t bore you with pics of that.

We had a great first night, including a delicious dinner at the steakhouse located in the hotel. The next day, we went to the matinee showing of Sister Act, which was very fun.

​

Housekeeping was on par with Disney!

​

We had dinner with friends that night. The next day, we visited Voodoo Doughnuts, a famous Portland establishment.

​

Obviously, I didn’t try the doughnuts, but Willow reported that they were delicious.

​

We spent much of this day at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry - this place is a BLAST for kids. If you are ever in Portland, go there!

Willow loved this roller coaster thing where she had to try to get the hills just right so that the car wouldn’t go off the tracks.

​

This was really fun too - you could design a flyer and then try it out over this wind machine thing.

​

There were tons of other fun things to try. Again, I won’t bore you with any more photos of that!

I will show you food though! The pizza, including a gluten-free one that my mom and I shared, was great!

​

We had another great dinner that night. Check out this yummy wedge salad!

​

Scallops and shrimp.

​

We all know what Willow chose.

​

 

[RGirl]

Real Life Update: Spring Break! (cont.)​

We checked out the next day, headed for Seaside, Oregon and the ocean. Willow could not pass up a ride when the bellman offered.

​

We had rented a house right on the promenade that goes along the area leading to the beach. Willow was pleased with it.

​

This is how close we were - just walk down that path ahead and straight to the beach.

​

Willow will show you the way (you know we weren’t there long before the two of us had to head to the beach).

​

We had friends - two long-time family friends - joining us the next day, so Willow got a little reading done before they arrived.

​

Of course, they wanted to head to the beach soon after arriving, and Willow and I obliged. The next day, one of these friends who is a great fisher-person tried to take Willow fishing. There was a lot of build-up, and then it was impossible to find a good spot to fish. Willow is looking forward to going fishing next month for the first time. She did learn to cast though!

​

You can see a surfer out there behind Willow in this one - it was in the mid-50s and VERY windy. They obviously wear “dry suits,” but I’m amazed that anything can keep a person warm enough to be surfing out there. Brrrrr

​

After the less-than-successful fishing expedition (which took HOURS), we headed to Willow’s favorite Seaside restaurant:

​

Willow was thrilled.

​

Pig ‘n’ Pancake is awesome - most of the adults had burgers, and we all loved them. Mmmmmmm After that, we hung out at the house - Willow and Judy 2 (some of you may remember her from my Alaska cruise TR) spent a good deal of time playing “Hide FuzzBall” - hiding the fuzzball Yeti from AK somewhere in the first floor of the house. As is our tradition (mom, me, Willow) when we visit Seaside, we put on a “spread” for dinner - i.e., we go out to lunch and then throw a bunch of cheeses, crackers, veggies, fruit, seafood, etc on the kitchen counters and everyone helps themselves. That’s vacation!

Here’s a fairly poor picture of the beautiful sunset as seen from our rental house.

​

The next day, we drove about an hour south to Tillamook, Oregon to visit the Tillamook Cheese Factory - since Willow and I eat our weight in this stuff every year, it seemed an important place to visit.

​

We did the little factory tour and then got some yummy Tillamook ice cream!

​

Willow, of course, could not pass up a photo op.

​

When we returned, we visited the local candy store - we can’t go to Seaside without paying that place a visit. We tried to do the carousel, but sadly, it was being repaired that day. I felt terrible about waiting until our last day to do it, because Willow completely missed out on it this year, and I’m not sure whether we’ll be back next year. When we got back to the house, we chilled out for a bit, and then Judy 2 and I took Willow to the beach for one last time to say good-bye.

​

We experienced some nature - watching seagulls waiting for food to wash in from the tide, and three seagulls battling it out for a big old crab. I won’t bore you with those pics too.

That pretty much wraps up our little spring break trip. I hope it wasn’t too boring.

 

[dizneeat]

Love the springbreak trip report!

GREAT location of the house you rented and the pics are awesome. The hotel in Portland sounds wonderful too - I would have loved to see pics of the room.

Willow looks like she enjoyed the trip a lot. BUT .... why do spring breaks have to end so soon?

 

[sweetpeaandevie]

Definitely not boring!!! I love all your little mini trips that y'all take.......although it makes me feel like a slacker mom

 

[STLMickeyMom]

i LOVE this picture! little tiny willow with the whole big world stretching out in front of her....love this!

We had friends - two long-time family friends - joining us the next day, so Willow got a little reading done before they arrived.

​

that's a great book! i used to read it A LOT to the boys i nanny--back when they still wanted me to read to them. now they're too big for that...

I love your RL update! it looks like you guys had a great spring break! you're so lucky to live so close to the ocean. if I did, i'd never leave the beach! :yes:

 

[jedijill]

What a fun Spring Break Trip! The Oregon coast looks gorgeous!

Jill in CO

 

[courtneybelle]

That is one gorgeous Embassy Suites! When I was little we used to stay at the Embassy Suites when we went to Disney and some of my strongest childhood memories are from that hotel

Those donuts look AMAZING!

So awesome that the bellhop offered Willow a ride. Very Eloise at the Plaza

Thank you for sharing! Those beach pictures are stunning!

 

[hstrickland]

Happy Easter!!!!

I'm a bit behind as usual What's new??!!


Love the Spring Break update!!!! Your accommodations look fabulous! Never seen an Embassy Suites like that!!!! And housekeeping even resembled Disney Amazing how different the coastlines of the US look. West Coast is absolutely beautiful, Roni!!! What a nice get-away for Willow.

We're on Spring Break now...in Florida!!! But not Disney...at New Smyrna Beach. So nice to do absolutely nothing for a week!! Gives me time to catch up on all these TRs


Hope y'all have a wonderful day!!!

Heather

 

[DisneyJo]

Wow your trip to Oregon looked wonderful, one day I will definitely venture further than WDW and NYC as you have a beautiful country

 

[amandaw]

I don't think we ever tried lunch in Royal Court on the Fantasy. I'm adding it to our "to do" list for next year! We definitely enjoyed breakfast there so I'm sure lunch will be nice also!

The Spring Break trip looks very relaxing but very fun!

 

[RGirl]

Love the springbreak trip report!

Thank you!!!

GREAT location of the house you rented and the pics are awesome. The hotel in Portland sounds wonderful too - I would have loved to see pics of the room.

The house was indeed perfectly located - it was so nice!

Here's the hotel suite. The living room area has a seating space with TV; an area with a sink, microwave, mini-fridge; and a table/desk area.

​

One of the bedrooms.

​

The other bedroom (this one is actually huge with a big entryway and ons of space.

​

There is a bathroom next to the first bedroom and then a second bathroom attached to the second bedroom. It's a great set-up for the three of us.

Willow looks like she enjoyed the trip a lot. BUT .... why do spring breaks have to end so soon?

She did have a great time! And she felt exactly that way - too short!!!

 

[RGirl]

Definitely not boring!!! I love all your little mini trips that y'all take.......although it makes me feel like a slacker mom

Thanks! I feel like, if I can't get out of town fairly regularly, I will lose my mind. The routine starts to kill me with the working, the making dinner, the packing lunches, the homework, the cleaning, the laundry.

i LOVE this picture! little tiny willow with the whole big world stretching out in front of her....love this!

I liked that picture a lot too.

that's a great book! i used to read it A LOT to the boys i nanny--back when they still wanted me to read to them. now they're too big for that...

It's a good one. Over the Moon is our favorite "adoption" book though.

I love your RL update! it looks like you guys had a great spring break! you're so lucky to live so close to the ocean. if I did, i'd never leave the beach! :yes:

Thank you! It was a fun little trip. I miss seeing the ocean every day - it is a treat to get over there and spend some time.

What a fun Spring Break Trip! The Oregon coast looks gorgeous!

Thank you! The Oregon coast is amazing - can't wait to be back in just 3 months to start our big Road Trip to Disneyland!

That is one gorgeous Embassy Suites! When I was little we used to stay at the Embassy Suites when we went to Disney and some of my strongest childhood memories are from that hotel

We are big fans of Embassy Suites, but this one is by far the BEST!.

Those donuts look AMAZING!

Willow certainly thought they were great!

So awesome that the bellhop offered Willow a ride. Very Eloise at the Plaza

It was SO cute!

Thank you for sharing! Those beach pictures are stunning!

Thank you!!!

By the way, I finished up your shirts last night and should have them in the mail to you tomorrow.

Happy Easter!!!!

Hi Heather! Happy Easter to you too!

I'm a bit behind as usual What's new??!!

I know the feeling all too well myself.

Love the Spring Break update!!!! Your accommodations look fabulous! Never seen an Embassy Suites like that!!!! And housekeeping even resembled Disney Amazing how different the coastlines of the US look. West Coast is absolutely beautiful, Roni!!! What a nice get-away for Willow.

Thank you! It is the best Embassy Suites I've ever seen. We had a wonderful trip.

We're on Spring Break now...in Florida!!! But not Disney...at New Smyrna Beach. So nice to do absolutely nothing for a week!! Gives me time to catch up on all these TRs

Oooh - happy spring break! I hope you are soaking in the relaxation.

Hope y'all have a wonderful day!!!

Hope you had a great Easter. Thanks for catching up!

 

[RGirl]

Wow your trip to Oregon looked wonderful, one day I will definitely venture further than WDW and NYC as you have a beautiful country

It was a great trip! There are definitely a lot of great places to visit here, but I know it's hard to branch out when you already have such favorites.

I don't think we ever tried lunch in Royal Court on the Fantasy. I'm adding it to our "to do" list for next year! We definitely enjoyed breakfast there so I'm sure lunch will be nice also!

The Spring Break trip looks very relaxing but very fun!

Oh, you should definitely try lunch there - it is REALLY pleasant.

Thanks - it was a lot of fun!

 

[flafan]

Subscribing, what a great report

 

[chattadisser]

What an awesome Spring Break! Is the Embassy in an old building? It looked a little historical. I love hotels in old buildings, there is always so many nooks and crannys that make them so unique.

The Oregon coast is beautiful! So different from the eastern US. I'm always amazed at cliffs right on the beach. I think I would spend my entire time just staring at them.

Glad you all had a good time, coming back from vacation is always so hard.

Christine

 

[dizneeat]

Thank you for the photos of your room, Roni! It's an awesome room!

 

[RGirl]

Subscribing, what a great report

Welcome!!! Thanks so much for joining in!

What an awesome Spring Break! Is the Embassy in an old building? It looked a little historical. I love hotels in old buildings, there is always so many nooks and crannys that make them so unique.

Yes - they turned an old hotel into an Embassy Suites but didn't destroy any of the beauty of the original place. I love it!

The Oregon coast is beautiful! So different from the eastern US. I'm always amazed at cliffs right on the beach. I think I would spend my entire time just staring at them.

I do love the West Coast cliffs and views. The East Coast beaches have a lot to offer too though. Really - I just like being at the ocean!

Glad you all had a good time, coming back from vacation is always so hard.

It is hard!!!! And I have been so busy since we got back!

Thank you for the photos of your room, Roni! It's an awesome room!

No problem!

 

[RGirl]

Hello DIS friends!!! I’m sorry for the lack of updates lately. Life is just so busy. I’m even more sorry for falling behind on your TRs - I will be working to get caught up this week! Work has been so busy lately, and I have had quite a few projects at home too. I hope you don’t mind if I share a couple of those with you before heading into an update. This is a super-soft fleece blanket that I made for my friends who are having a baby any day now - the elephant matches a onesie that I made for them (nursery theme is elephants).

​

And I continue to fill Willow’s orders for cupcake shirts for our upcoming trip to Disneyland - and, of course, she wears them to school pretty much every day too.

​

And now, finally, an actual TR update!!!!

A Mystery​

Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Sunrise: 6:33AM
Sunset: 7:14PM
Port: Costa Maya, Mexico
Evening Attire: Cruise Casual
All Ashore: 1:00PM
All Aboard: 5:30PM
Tuesday: Overcast, High of 82
Wednesday: Partly Cloudy, High of 84

After our super-fun lunch, we headed back to the stateroom for that shower!

​

We hung out for a little bit - Willow watched a Sofia episode, and I checked out the view. I just could not believe the color of the water!

​

By about 2:15, we were ready to head out again to do something we had really been looking forward to - the Midship Detective Agency game! We headed down to Deck 5 where we would become detectives.

​

This is such a cool experience! Basically, you select a mystery - we chose The Case of the Missing Puppies - and get a map and a special Agency card. This is the pamphlet with the map and information about the suspects:

​

The map shows you locations all over the ship where you can find magical art that will give you clues to solving the mystery when you hold up your special Agent card, which looks like this:

​

Soon we were wandering all over the ship gathering clues from the artwork.

​

Up Next: A Mystery Cont.