Best Trip Ever, but Rain, Rain, Go Away!!

[fowlandfishmommy 10]

Hang on a minute!

 

That is not Devine.  It's Bamboo.

 

Bamboo showed up for a brief time a few months ago.  I think he's supposed to be a male version of Devine, but with Bamboo instead of vines.

 

For some odd reason I'll never understand, this apparently was not a big hit with guests, and I thought Bamboo had gotten the axe.

 

But that's him.

 

You're lucky to have seen him- he's rare.

 

TCD

 

Also he is a tad bit scary.  You could see Devine's face and she always had a peaceful smile.  You can't really see this dudes face and he moves around more. 

[fowlandfishmommy 10]

I am really enjoying your first TR!

 

BTW,  I don't understand why you're calling your DH "Daddy".

 

It's okay to admit you married Zac Brown.

 

Tell him Zac Brown Band are my favorite band right now and I really liked "Chicken Fried."

 

:)

 

I just couldn't come up with another nickname and when I am talking to the kids that is what I call him, or Your Daddy.  :  Hahaha!  I have never heard the Zac Brown comparison.  Usually its Jesus.  :)   

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

I just couldn't come up with another nickname and when I am talking to the kids that is what I call him, or Your Daddy.  :   Hahaha!  I have never heard the Zac Brown comparison.  Usually its Jesus.  :)   

 

He could be one of the Red Sox too.

[fowlandfishmommy 10]

Here we go again!  Hopefully I can get two installments done today.  Sorry for the delay!  I hope you are all still reading! 

 

Downtown Disney was pretty crowded.  I wanted to eat at one of the awesome counter service restaurants and Daddy wanted to just pay extra and do a sit down. Then he made the mistake of saying how about Trex.  Well we went over and the wait was like an hour and a half.  The kids were already pumped and all of our bribery to do something else Fowl was not biting!  So we had to wait.  We took turns staying with FIsh and letting him watch the fire at Rainforest and taking Fowl all around.  We saw the weird red people.  That was funny and really good.  We eventually took Fowl to the Lego store.  It was PACKED.  I thought I might have a little spell.  We went around really quickly and saw some stuff and left.  We did that twice while waiting.  He was happy with it.  He's not a big fan of crazy folks either. 

 

 

Finally our buzzer went off.  Let me just say.  They are VERY disorganized.  I don't understand why.  They have to be used to a lot of people.  It didn't help that most of the employees in the front were 12.  Anyway after our buzzer went off then we had to wait in line!!  What!  Then off we went.  After we got to our seats it was a great experience.  The boys LOVED it.  They were amazed and Fish was growling at everything.  (He's a man of few words)  The chef came and spoke to us about the boys allergies.  Fowl - nuts.  Fish - eggs.  And we were good to go.  I think both boys had chicken fingers and Daddy and I had some kind of pasta.  I had the torrtelini.  It was very good.  Here's the thing though.  It was $100 with tip.  No alcohol, no apps, no dessert.  Heck I didn't even have meat.  That is just too much for me.  Probably our only money/planning fail of the trip.  Oh well.  At least it was good. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm not sure you have noticed but this is what Fish does when we say smile.  :) 

 

Next up EPCOT!!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Cute photos from T-Rex.

 

I am surprised your bill was so high with two kids' meals.

 

We've only eaten there once, and I thought their prices were much lower than typical Disney sit-down restaurant prices.  I guess maybe they've gotten caught up with the price gouging?

 

It looks like you managed to escape there without buying the stuffed dinosaurs.  Good job.

 

TCD

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

$100.00 and no booze! That does seem high. Next time get some drinks and you won't think about the bill as much.

It does look like the kids had a good time. They are too cute.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I'm just getting caught up on about a week of trip report reading, and have to say how RELIEVED I am that you got pics of Bamboo and NOT Devine.  

 

Devine, as many know, creeps the heck out of me.  When I first came upon your update and saw you mention Devine I freaked.  But then I saw the pic and just laughed.  That Bamboo is not creepy in the least.  He just looks stupid, IMO.  

 

Love the river ride pics.  That's a great ride.  

 

I've never eaten at T Rex.  Now I'm not sure I will.  

[Travisma 1,317]

$100 ouch! 

 

When my kids were younger we took them to different Disney dining venues.  We did Hoop De Do,  character breakfast at the Grand Floridian, and another character breakfast at Downtown Disney on the paddle wheel boat to name a few

 

We always had a great time, and I'm sure that those 70's and 80's prices (Hoop De Do about $22) were in line with todays considering cost of living adjustments. 

 

You just get caught up in "THE MAGIC" and dive in head first and not think about the cost. 

 

At least the Hoop De Do and most character breakfasts are buffet/all you can eat and the food is good.

 

We took the grand kids to a character breakfast a couple of years ago at the Beach Club.  My wife had found some sort of discount so we came out of there with my wallet mostly intact.

 

We find that the grand kids are happy just being on property and getting to do different things. They don't mind eating food we packed and then getting an occasional treat form somewhere. (Maybe it's because their parents take them out to eat so often) :rofl3:

 

I'm not in any way condeming you for your choice of eating there, I just feel your pain...

 

it's a shame, Disney makes a ton of $$$ everywhere you look.  It would be nice if they gave visitors a break on food costs.

 

Great report so far and our first two trips this fall (August, September) had rain.  This last one in October was dry.  it made a big difference, especially since we were tenting.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Out of curiosity, I looked for a T-Rex menu on-line, and found one here: http://www.trexcafe.com/pdf/MenuOrlando.pdf

 

Those prices are a lot higher than I remember.

 

When looking for that menu, I found the menu for the Kansas City T-Rex: http://www.trexcafe.com/pdf/MenuKc.pdf

 

If you compare the two- you will see that the Orlando prices are substantially jacked up.

 

Thank you Disney Dining Plan.

 

TCD

[Travisma 1,317]

Out of curiosity, I looked for a T-Rex menu on-line, and found one here: http://www.trexcafe.com/pdf/MenuOrlando.pdf

 

Those prices are a lot higher than I remember.

 

When looking for that menu, I found the menu for the Kansas City T-Rex: http://www.trexcafe.com/pdf/MenuKc.pdf

 

If you compare the two- you will see that the Orlando prices are substantially jacked up.

 

Thank you Disney Dining Plan.

 

TCD

But TCD, it's the Disney MAGIC you are paying for!  How much Magic does KC have to offer?  Stockyards?

 

It's the same with concerts here in FL.  I guess we're captive audiences.  Groups that sell out for a week up north and have reasonable ticket prices come down here for 1 day and we pay 3 times as much for a ticket.

 

And it is Disney trying to make a killing because they know then can.  They raise ticket prices every year and people still buy them.  Supply and demand.

 

But then again it's the same with Busch, Six Flags, even movies and state fairs.

[fowlandfishmommy 10]

Sorry I'm just getting back on.  Ahh so much going on!  Anyway.  Just FYI I will give the details soon.  But we also went to the Polynesian character breakfast and paid out of pocket.  It was $62 with tip.  Some things are worth the money and some aren't.  Trex wasn't worth that in my opinion, it was just too much $$$.  But like I said, it wasn't a big loss.  The food was good and the kids loved it. 

[jengarynew adventures 0]

Great TR, enjoying the photos and seeing all the fun you are having!

 

We are looking forward to the Polynesian character breakfast sometime in the future, sounds like it was a big hit.

 

Keep the photos and memories coming... 

[fowlandfishmommy 10]

Sorry for the HUGE delay. 

 

EPCOT!  EPCOT is the grown ups favorite park.  That is why we go two days, because we are paying!  The kids really like it to.  But I mean I could live in the World Showcase.  Like pitch a tent and live.  I just love it!  The sights the smells.  AHHHH! 

 

We didn't get there at rope drop.  I'd say it was about 9:30.  We made Fastpass+ reservations to see Mickey first.  I wanted them to get pictures done before they had time to get filthy.  From my experience lots of moms have the same plan and the line can be really long. 

 

Here we are with the main man.

 

Fish was very excited.

 

So was Fowl.

 

 

 

Can you tell how big Fish's grin is??

 

 

Our awesome family picture is on our photo pass cd.  They are transitioning the sights so I'm having some trouble with my order right now.  Hopefully it will be fixed soon. It isn't recognizing that I pre ordered.    I promise I'll post them when I get them. 

 

Now Minnie!!

 

 

 

Now on to the seas...

 

Mine Mine Mine

 

Fish thought it was so funny!

 

 

Our family loves some manatees and Fowler was so excited to see them.  I don't remember them from last time.  Are they new? 

 

We have seen some in the wild on the Crystal River before!  That was a very neat experience. 

 

I wanted to show a picture of what we do for drinks in the parks.  But you could see our phone number on the stroller and I don't know how to use TCD's fancy purple crayon.  So I'll just tell you. We use reusable water bottles and take the little drink packs.  Now I don't let my kids drink stuff like that ever, but I do on vacation in Disney World because well the water from the water fountains tastes like butt.  At least I think it does.  :)  I realize you can get water with ice for free from the restaurants or at least I think you can but we don't like to wait in line at all.  So it works for us. 

 

Oh and yes I made the tie dye shirts for all of us.  Fish's didn't turn out very well, but I let him wear it anyway. 

Fowl loved test track I hope I can remember how many times he rode it.  I know he rode it twice then once with Daddy and once with me.

 

 

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Cool!  Love the big smile for Mickey!

[fowlandfishmommy 10]

 On to the Land.  We ate in Sunshine seasons for lunch.  It is almost impossible to take pictures of our food with our two monkeys.  Daddy had something Asian and I had the  Seared Tuna Noodle salad.  It was the bomb.com.  It was a little spicy.  I got this picture from here...http://pixievacationsbybob.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

We all (well maybe not daddy) love Living with the Land.  I remember riding it with my parents when I was 8.  :) 

 

We have a garden and even chickens so we find it all really interesting.  And also Fowl has a strange fascination with fish farming. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some time after everyone (except Fish) rode Soarin (which we all loved - it was Fowl and my first time) we went back to the hotel to nap.  Then back we came that night. 

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Great tip if you like T-Rex..... register with mypoints.com. You can earn gift cards for Rainforest Café and T-Rex by starting at their portal before you shop. Last year when we went, I had 2 $50 gift cards when we went for lunch. I think I remember that our bill came to about $100, but I know I had a huge margarita. Anyway, it was basically free because of the shopping I would have done anyway.

[fowlandfishmommy 10]

 On to the Land.  We ate in Sunshine seasons for lunch.  It is almost impossible to take pictures of our food with our two monkeys.  Daddy had something Asian and I had the  Seared Tuna Noodle salad.  It was the bomb.com.  It was a little spicy.  I got this picture from here...http://pixievacationsbybob.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

We all (well maybe not daddy) love Living with the Land.  I remember riding it with my parents when I was 8.  :) 

 

We have a garden and even chickens so we find it all really interesting.  And also Fowl has a strange fascination with fish farming. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some time after everyone (except Fish) rode Soarin (which we all loved - it was Fowl and my first time) we went back to the hotel to nap.  It was pouring rain when we left.  Then back we came that night. 

 

We knew the kids would like the food at the Liberty Inn and they did, but we wanted something else.  I wanted to try out the bakery in France.  I had to do some convincing with the old man, but he went with my plan.  We got ours to go (they put it in bags and everything - and they were super nice) and walked to Liberty Inn, got the kids food, and ate in there.  There was only 1 other family eating and it was so nice in there.  We had some kind of turkey sandwich with pesto I think.  It was delicious and so was the dessert. 

 

Fowl waiting for the fireworks.

 

 

 

 

I love this!

 

 

 

 

From where we were standing these cannons went off right under the bushes and it scared the crap out of us.  :)  So Fish and Daddy had to go stand far back.  He normally loves fireworks, but on this trip.  Not so much.  I think they were just too close. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And that's it from that night!  Next up is Tuesday and Ohana or O'hana.  :)

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

I was a mypoints member for years....... Then all of a sudden they cancelled me for breach of terms of service. They never would tell me what I did.  The early years of the points programs were great. Actually bought an AP one year with the points I accumulated.

[fowlandfishmommy 10]

It is now day 4.  The 3rd park day.  The plan was to go to O'hana for breakfast and then do some boat riding.  Then take a nap and off to the Halloween party that night.  We didn't want to use a park ticket this day because we wanted to spend as much time as we wanted to at our first character meal.  There aren't many character meals for boys.  We would love to see a Toy Story or Pirate character meal. So for us our choices were Chef Mickey's or O'hana.  I'm obsessed with the Polynesian and we aren't buffet fans so there you go. (O'hana is served family style) Yes we were on the quick service plan so we would have to pay out of pocket.  But since Fish is under 3 he would be free (I think they might have regretted that policy - that boy can eat!)

 

We decided to drive because it would save some time and we didn't need the stroller for our meal but would need it later.  Here we are...

 

 

 

We didn't have to wait long and our buzzer went off.  We didn't stand in line to take the picture.  I didn't want to pay for it and Fish is not a stand in line kind of kid.  Why make everyone miserable??  When we got to our table the dance party was going on.  Fowl was a little unsure of the situation but he wanted to join so off he went.

 

 

 

Then our waitress (cousin) came over and we explained the kids food allergies.  Fowl is allergic most severely to peanuts and also tree nuts.  Fish is allergic to eggs.  The chef came out and explained that there would be no problem for Fowl except the baked bread because it is cooked in an oven with nut products.  And they would be bringing Fish his own separate platter of food.  So we got one platter with eggs, bacon, sausage (maybe the best I've ever had), and potatoes.  And Fish got a smaller one with bacon, sausage, and potatoes just for him.  He really almost ate it all.  You also get fruit, bread, biscuits, and mickey waffles.  It was really really good! 

 

 

 

And that juice is awesome!

 

 

 

Stitch first!

 

 

 

Then Lilo

 

 

Then Mickey

 

 

 

 

 

And finally Pluto.

 

 

 

We stayed for a while enjoying our meal and stuffing our selves to the limits.  We all did the dance party and parade again.  Then we were done.  Our meal was $62 with tip.  Maybe $72 but I'm pretty sure $62.  It was very much worth it!  We all enjoyed it very much and would do it again today!  I was very concerned about it being crazy in there.  It wasn't at all.  All was calm and very relaxing. 

 

Next up a tour around the Polynesian.  And some hat trying on.

 

 

 

 

Next was onto the monorail.  The boys love riding it! 

 

 

We rode around the hotel loop twice and then stopped at the Grand Floridian. We had never been there and wanted to check it out. 

 

Then we decided to take a boat ride over to the MK and then hop on a boat to the fort or wilderness lodge.  Fowl wanted to see the water bridge so bad.  He was pumped.  I was loosing Daddy fast and knew we need to hurry this up and get back to the hotel to nap. 

 

 

Photo limit!

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

Great tip if you like T-Rex..... register with mypoints.com. You can earn gift cards for Rainforest Café and T-Rex by starting at their portal before you shop. Last year when we went, I had 2 $50 gift cards when we went for lunch. I think I remember that our bill came to about $100, but I know I had a huge margarita. Anyway, it was basically free because of the shopping I would have done anyway.

What is this my points thing you speak of? I went to the website and it does not give much info, on the mobile site at least.

PM me if you don't want to hijack this TR

Thanks

[DramaMama .......... Janet 75]

[quote name="fowlandfishmommy" post="314722" timestamp=

Our family loves some manatees and Fowler was so excited to see them. I don't remember them from last time. Are they new?

[DramaMama .......... Janet 75]

Oops, that is what I get for posting with my phone!

Anyway, the manatees have been there for quite a while. The animals themselves may change as they only include manatees that have been hurt and are in The Seas because they could not survive in the wild because of their injuries. Occasionally they can rehab one and place it back in the natural habitat. We love them, too. We bought a stuffed manatee toy there in 2004 when we were expecting our first baby. We had been calling the baby "manatee" because pics of early stage fetuses can look like manatees!

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

We love the Ohana breakfast and the Poly!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

We did the Ohana breakfast several years ago and enjoyed it.  I don't remember that many characters visiting though.  Looks very nice.

[fowlandfishmommy 10]

Here we goooooo...  Oh and if you are a lurker.  Please post.  I would love more comments.  :)

 

We were making our way onto the ferry, boat, whatever...  We sat in the front.

 

 

 

I am forever amazed by the amount of grandparents that take their grandkids to Disney World without their parents.  I'm not sure how they do it.

 

Pulling up to the MK

 

 

We got on the boat to the Wilderness Lodge because it was first to get there.  I really regretted this because I didn't realize it didn't go pass Discovery Island or the Shoe tree.  Oh well.  We got to see what Fowl and I wanted to see the most.  The water bridge.  So cool!  I know hundreds of people don't ever even notice it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had two lady captains on our boat.  They were super nice.  One was training.  The other you can see in this picture.  Her name was something cute.  Bunnie, Bonnie, I can't remember.  I bet someone on here knows. 

 

 

After that we went back to the hotel for naps and to get ready for the Halloween Party.  There will be lots of info on that and our amazing costumes in the next update.  :)