Nala & pride "A Bucket Full of Magic" TR - Page 28 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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What a wonderful day! I love the way you focus on the good parts of every situation! Instead of grumping all the way back to your hotel when you found DHS closed, you now have the treasured memory of silly girl-time with your DM. I tell my boys (including DH) all that time that it's just a matter of perspective, and Nala, you have such an awesome perspective!
What a wonderful update! I loved hearing about Kiara's desire to watch Illuminations from your balcony. It was also so sweet how you and your mom enjoyed being silly together. I was glad to hear that you and Grumpy had a nice date night together at Jellyrolls You both deserved a night out together.
What an amazing day! You've had some pretty special days at WDW, but this was truly a standout. It was so touching to read about...I can't imagine what it was like to actually live it! Thanks so much for sharing it with us!
I always enjoy your TR and always know that somewhere in there I am going to need a tissue....I needed several this time around as I am just catching up on the last few updates. Thank you as always Nala for sharing your family and your trip with us. I am so amazed with Kiara this trip. She truly is growing up before us.
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They caught us all smiling and looking at the camera!!!
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Hey Nala...we miss you Hope everything is ok with you and the pride.
Thanks Meg. We are good here other than Kiara's seizure activity has picked up (since Christmas day, she has had five) so we have had to keep upping her meds, and added a new one, to try and get them under control. She could sure use any spare pixies anyone has to share.
That being said, on with the TR.
Morning came way too early for Grumpy and I, as neither of us was feeling up to par (and yes, for anyone who knows my last name, pun intended). Sarafina and Kiara were way to chipper and happy, and noisy , for Grumpy and I, so I decided to be a good wife and get out of bed, make myself presentable, and take the two of them to the lounge for a light snack so Grumpy could get a little more sleep. I gave him as much time as I possibly could, but when the clock reached 8:45, I had to force him out of bed. We had a breakfast ADR at 9:30 at Captain Grill, and even though it was only a short walk away, he needed to get moving. Reluctantly, he climbed out of bed and about 9:15 we headed to the YC.
We checked in at the podium and were told that our table would be ready in a few minutes. We took a moment to enjoy the decorations at the YC.
While the Christmas village was fun to look at and the tree decorated beautifully in a theme fitting for the YC, we felt the decorations there were not as over the top as at the other resorts. Still, they were beautiful and I enjoyed looking at them. Within about ten minutes, our buzzer went off and we were escorted to our table.
Sarafina, Kiara and I all decided to do the buffet, but Grumpy elected to order off the menu. Not being one that wants to focus on the negative, or one who would say anything less than positive about something in our happy place, let’s just say that our experience here was less than magical. The service was poor (but, in her defense, our server was spread very thin over many tables, and when she did make it to our table, she was very pleasant and helpful ) and the food was not up to Disney standards.
We finished breakfast and I was very disappointed that we didn’t all love the Captain’s Grill. I had read good reviews of it, and since it was close to home, I was hoping we would enjoy it. I chalked this one up as hitting it on an off day, and in the future would be willing to return for a second try. Perhaps the next visit will be for lunch or dinner and we will have better luck with that.
It was close to 11 AM so we decided to head to the WSC to see if we could catch a few story tellers, and just as we made our way into France, Pere Noel was coming out for his performance. Thanks to the tip given to us from Belle’s handler a few days prior, we knew to stick around for pictures and an autograph.
It had been our intention to spend some time in Epcot this morning, but Kiara had other plans. After her meet and greet with Pere Noel she started begging to go back to the BC for a swim. The morning was already warm, and since my Weather Channel obsessed DH had been keeping an eye on the forecast, we knew this was probably going to be the last day of the trip for Kiara to enjoy SAB. We took the short walk back to our room, Kiara and Grumpy quickly changed clothes and headed to the pool, and Sarafina and I went to the lounge for a soda and some snacks. Since we were going to have a possible late night, as we were headed to MVMCP, Sarafina decided to take a short nap, and I headed to SAB to join Grumpy and Kiara.
Both of them were hungry (especially Grumpy who ate only a few bites of his breakfast) but the line at Hurricane Hannah’s was longer than we had ever seen. Seems the convention that was going on at the Swan (or was it the Dolphin?) had dumped masses of people in the line. Grumpy was just about to brave it when a CM taking orders approached us. We were SOOOOO happy to see her and it was barely ten minutes before the food arrived. After eating lunch, we let Kiara play for a bit more and then headed to the room to get ready for our afternoon at the GF. At about 2:15 we headed towards the International Gateway and made our way to the monorail.
I was certain walking through Epcot, boarding the monorail and taking it to the TTC, then boarding the resort monorail, was our fastest route to the GF. But, the trip took longer than I had expected and I was getting nervous as the minutes ticked away. When we finally arrived at the GF we had just minutes to spare before our ADR at the Garden View Lounge and we hustled down to the main level to check in. Thankfully, we had made it just in time! We checked in and were immediately shown to our table.
I thought the lounge was a beautiful and cozy little place, but Grumpy was visibly squirming in his seat. He is so not a fan of the GF, as it is “too stuffy” for him, and sitting down to something as, in his mind, girly as tea, was flat out killing him. I do have to commend him, however, as he was doing his best to take one for the team, as this was something Sarafina and I had been very much looking forward to. Our server, Dottie, soon greeted us and what a lovely woman she was.
Sarafina and I placed our order for the Buckingham Palace Tea, Kiara the Mrs. Potts Tea and Grumpy ordered the British cheese plate. Sarafina and I, both being lovers of bleu, couldn’t resist ordering the Stilton with walnuts and marinated berries. Soon plates of beautiful little tea sandwiches appeared in front of Sarafina, Kiara and I, and Grumpy had a gorgeous plate of fruit and cheese in front of him. His plate had five or six large pieces of different cheeses on it, as well as all kinds of fruit. Had I not been so happy with what I had in front of me, I would have been green with envy over that cheese plate.
Kiara tore into her little sandwiches, and devoured them in nothing flat.
Sarafina and I savored all the different offerings on our plates. I was sure I would love the gorgonzola and pear sandwich, which I did, but the curried chicken salad was my favorite. And the Stilton, coupled with the walnuts and berries, was wonderful! If you are a fan of bleu cheese, I would highly recommend this, as it was a delicious combination. When our sandwiches were finished, the time came to make the choice between pastries or strawberries and cream. Sarafina went for the strawberries and I selected two beautiful pastries from a three tiered plate Dottie held in front of me.
The time had come to pay our bill and we thanked Dottie for her very attentive service. Three out of four members of the pride gave afternoon tea a big thumbs up and something we would love to do again. (one member, however, I don't think could be dragged back to tea again without kicking and screaming)
We headed out of the lounge and I had every intention of checking out the decorations in the lobby. Grumpy, on the other hand, had every intention of bolting out of the resort. He headed outside and told us to take our time looking around and to call him when we were done. We marveled at the beautiful tree and the gingerbread house, and then decided to go find Grumpy. I would have loved to have spent more time at the GF, and especially spent some time in the shops, but the clock was ticking and I was ready to get to the MK.
We found Grumpy outside at a table overlooking the lagoon and sat there for a while just enjoying the view and letting Kiara chase the little lizards around the garden beds. Finally, Grumpy said he was ready to brave the masses at the MK and we made our way back inside the GF and to the monorail. A few minutes later we arrived and made it to the gate to turn in our tickets for MVMCP!
You know I always have plenty of pixies for Kiara but here are a few extra, too....: pixie:
and a couple of these for her momma.....
So glad Kiara could get in another splash session at SAB!
Love, love, love the Tea and the GF...you know, I think we just have to commit to our girls only trip and then you can explore and enjoy the GF as long as you want! (Plus, I am sure Grumpy would be happy to sit that trip out! )
Oh boy....sounds like MVCP was a bit of a doozy....
danielle
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You both deserved a night out together.
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
Hope everything is ok with you and the pride.
She could sure use any spare pixies anyone has to share. 
(and yes, for anyone who knows my last name, pun intended). Sarafina and Kiara were way to chipper and happy, and noisy , for Grumpy and I, so I decided to be a good wife and get out of bed, make myself presentable, and take the two of them to the lounge for a light snack so Grumpy could get a little more sleep. I gave him as much time as I possibly could, but when the clock reached 8:45, I had to force him out of bed. We had a breakfast ADR at 9:30 at Captain Grill, and even though it was only a short walk away, he needed to get moving. Reluctantly, he climbed out of bed and about 9:15 we headed to the YC. 
) and the food was not up to Disney standards. 
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