Wait!!! Wasn't this supposed to be a weekend trip? TR COMPLETE 11/2 About This Page:

[PrincessSharon]

Sounds like a wonderful final day, except for the bad server at Tutto Italia. Don't know what her problem was. But it sounds like it was a wonderful trip!

[lindawdw]

With the exception of the server at Tutto Italia, your last afternoon at Epcot sounded so relaxing and fun. We have found in the past that the service at Tutto is not always stellar and that the waitstaff tends to stand around and stare at the tables. Our last meal there was two years ago and it was not very good so we had decided back then to cross that one off of our list of Epcot restaurants to eat at. We actually have a ressie at Via Napoli in December for the first time! Looking forward to your final thoughts.

[dsteiny23]

So sad this trip is over But I've loved following along. I do love that picture of the sunset over the tracks
And Wow, I can't believe that server!! "Happy Birthday and by the way, here's a dessert you aren't allowed to have" Wow!!

[disneydani]

Glad you girls could really stroll WS and enjoy the offerings. So sorry about Tutto...that kind of service is totally uncalled for!

I can't believe it is all over....time to start planning the next one....

Looking forward to the wrap-up.

Danielle

[mcc0313]

Originally Posted by chezp

Wow, that service was unbelievable! I think, as you'd already met the manager, I would've said something, as 18% for that is just crazy. She just did not deserve that at all! :

Thank goodness at the rest of your final day was much better. So sorry to see this coming to an end though.

At that point I just wanted to go, I figured let her go and enjoy her 18% tip...the manager was more than sweet. If it wasn't that the food was so good it would have been a wash, but their service might not be great but the food was terribly good. However, Tutto will come off the list for a bit, will find a new last day lunch in the WS.

Originally Posted by Kenny

I dearly LOVE the pictures in these last 2 updates. For the most part, it was a great last day. For the chef to remember how special Angel is would overshadow the poor service at Tutto. I'm glad you had a good flight home. I'm sorry it has come to an end.

The manager at the BW Bakery was amazing, he was so sweet and so accomodating. As for the server at Tutto - I came to the conclusion that there will always be a bad day. There have been times that the meal is just not that great, this time it was the server. In the end...not worth letting it bother us. The trip was too great for that

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

Glad the chef at the bakery made up for the server at Tutto! Great pictures from the WS and a great last afternoon! Looking forward to your final thoughts!

He was a great manager, even the staff was so helpful. In the end the server might be the nicest person, just having a bad day. At least the food was great

Originally Posted by Cam22

What a great last day! Sorry about the lousy waitress at Tutto.

I love ending the trip at Epcot. Even with the heat that day it was probably one of the most relaxing days of the trip. I love that the girls enjoy wandering the WS as much as I do.

Originally Posted by Dlandmom2

Bummer the trip is over, but it sure seemed like you had a great vacation! I'm really glad it worked out that all three of you were able to go!

When I look back and remember how this started out as a long weekend with just Angel and I - I am so happy that Jasmine was able to come and that we were able to add some time to the trip. We had a great time.

Originally Posted by PrincessSharon

Sounds like a wonderful final day, except for the bad server at Tutto Italia. Don't know what her problem was. But it sounds like it was a wonderful trip!

Not sure either Sharon - guess it was just not her day, I am going to chalk it up to she had a bad headache, had to work anyway and just was not happy. It was a small crimp in what was a wonderful last day.

Originally Posted by lindawdw

With the exception of the server at Tutto Italia, your last afternoon at Epcot sounded so relaxing and fun. We have found in the past that the service at Tutto is not always stellar and that the waitstaff tends to stand around and stare at the tables. Our last meal there was two years ago and it was not very good so we had decided back then to cross that one off of our list of Epcot restaurants to eat at. We actually have a ressie at Via Napoli in December for the first time! Looking forward to your final thoughts.

I never found the servers there overly friendly, but they were always cordial, I think she just was having a very bad day, but the staring does make it uncomfortable. The manager however was a doll.

Via Napoli is on our list for next year as well.

Originally Posted by dsteiny23

So sad this trip is over But I've loved following along. I do love that picture of the sunset over the tracks
And Wow, I can't believe that server!! "Happy Birthday and by the way, here's a dessert you aren't allowed to have" Wow!!

That is one of my favorite pictures....and I was so exicted that I took it. Usually Jasmine takes all the real good ones

Originally Posted by disneydani

Glad you girls could really stroll WS and enjoy the offerings. So sorry about Tutto...that kind of service is totally uncalled for!

I can't believe it is all over....time to start planning the next one....

Looking forward to the wrap-up.

Danielle

Definitely time to start planning the next one already got the calendar out.

[ilovedisney247]

I'm so sorry you got a bum server at Tutto--we've never had that happen--most of them are so lovely! We actually skipped our meal at Tutto on Friday--we decided to eat around the world some more instead. It sounds like the rest of your day at Epcot was wonderful!

[mcc0313]

Originally Posted by ilovedisney247

I'm so sorry you got a bum server at Tutto--we've never had that happen--most of them are so lovely! We actually skipped our meal at Tutto on Friday--we decided to eat around the world some more instead. It sounds like the rest of your day at Epcot was wonderful!

The food was wonderful though, Jaz and I were definitely full, I could not believe all the food on the antipasto platter, we probably would have been full off of that, but the ceasar salad with grilled chicken was great too.

Still want to try the lasagna...we be skipping it next trip as the girls want to try some other places for our last lunch but we will eventually get back there.

[Linnynad]

I would have shoved that mouse right up her nose!!! Geez, I can't deal with bad service anymore. I understand maybe she was having a bad day, but doing that to a kid, with an allergy, yeah no I would have had to say something. So glad both your kids can turn the other cheek and take it so laid back. Kudos to you for teaching them better.
Sorry this trip has come to an end, I am looking forward to hearing your lessons learned as I think we all learn a few with each trip.
So yes, planning another..............sounds like a good plan to me!

[OhToodles!]

I finally got caught up! Sounds like even with a few bumps you still had a great trip!
So how much longer until the next one?

[mcc0313]

Originally Posted by Linnynad

I would have shoved that mouse right up her nose!!! Geez, I can't deal with bad service anymore. I understand maybe she was having a bad day, but doing that to a kid, with an allergy, yeah no I would have had to say something. So glad both your kids can turn the other cheek and take it so laid back. Kudos to you for teaching them better.
Sorry this trip has come to an end, I am looking forward to hearing your lessons learned as I think we all learn a few with each trip.
So yes, planning another..............sounds like a good plan to me!

Mouse up the nose might have been the trick...I just did not want to ruin my last day even getting more aggravated and once we were out and about...everyone had their snack we really just let it go. I have always told them if you let one thing bother you and not let it go, you miss all the other great things that happen when you are sulking...so far so good it has worked

Originally Posted by OhToodles!

I finally got caught up! Sounds like even with a few bumps you still had a great trip!
So how much longer until the next one?

Well we have Angel's birthday booked for next year but only two nights right now (wanted to catcthe the AKL club level before there was nothing left) - not sure if we are going to build backwards or forwards yet on the trip but I really need to figure that out soon so I can call member services and get us a standard room for the other days. I am leaning more towards last week of July so going backwards looks like the direction we are going.

There are a few weekends planned in there for for before summer but still waiting to figure out dates....I so need a new countdown so I better come up with something concrete soon

[OhToodles!]

Backwards may be the way to go because you can save the awesomeness of club level for 'the cherry on top' at the end.

[mcc0313]

Originally Posted by OhToodles!

Backwards may be the way to go because you can save the awesomeness of club level for 'the cherry on top' at the end.

We are 99% in that direction, I agree...it would be the perfect way to end the trip, except Angel is not too happy that it would mean leaving WDW on her birthday so might have to add one more night on the front anyway

[HiddenMickey]

Took me a couple days, but I made I through your trip! Thanks for sharing. Lots of great moments and a few bad but overall a wonderful trip! Glad your surprise worked out!

[mcc0313]

Lessons Learned and Final Thoughts

I think no matter how many times you go, there will always be some insightful lesson to be learned for the next time...the lesson learned this trip?

Traveling with others is tricky....I know this is a lesson that I should have learned before but what can I say I am so hardheaded sometimes

I think the best way to explain it is using Jasmine's explanation...."Mom, some people are just not Disney people, they just don't get how to do it". This was Jasmine's way of explaining why she loves meeting up with my PP friends but...while she loves her aunt, Disney might not be the place to travel with her too.

And that's not a bad thing, it just means we are different travelers. I think this trip was better then some of our past trips, I think we learned that seperation is good. We did not spend every moment together, we did not even stay in the same hotel which I think was key. There was no getting antsy when someone was not ready to leave, we did our own thing and when we met up we met up.

Other lesson....I love Caleigh, she is the sweetest little girl in the world but one day would have been fine. Again I was trying to make them both happy but its hard...when you have someone who is just not used to how you do things, so you end up trying to please them and trying to please your own....it was really tiring and someone always was unhappy. I think even Angel learned this the hard way...But that is why they call it a learning lesson....did it ruin our trip....not a chance we had a great time, but did it give us some insight into future trips YES.

But at the girls request the next summer trip....it is just us (and hopefully meeting up with some great PP's - as Jasmine says those meets only enhance our trip becuase they are Disney people too )

Final Thoughts....

Jet Blue, again we love them and will continue to travel with them, the delay on our flight down wasn't fun, I think I would have been much happier waiting in the terminal then sitting on the plane for two hours until take off but once we were in the air we were good to go, and the staff tried to make us as comfortable as possible during our wait.

Animal Kingdom Resort - What can I say, I am so happy we bought in there. We have always loved the feel of the resort when we have visited but this was our first time staying there and it will not be our last. The girls love it...it was hard to even get them away from the resort to go to the park half the time, they were more than happy being at the pool or relaxing on the balcony. There was so much we did not get to see which only leaves more reason to explore even more the next trip.

Boardwalk Resort - It's hard because like the girls I loved AKL, but I still love the feel of being in the Epcot area, walking to the IG just makes my trip and I love wandering out early in the morning onto the Boardwalk, seeing the sun rise over the lake, smell the wonderful aroma coming out of the bakery. I think the long walk to the room kind of did Jasmine in this trip, and I think that it could have also been that she fell hard for AKL, I think that she just did not want to leave. Jasmine asked that next trip we no switch resorts mid-trip so we will be skipping the BW for next summer but it is definitely on the list for the following year.

Dining: We kept some favorites but really tried a lot of new places this year. Citricos was amazing. From the moment we walked in to the last bite of our dessert was perfect. The service was great and I can't say enough about Chef David and the time he took with Angel.

Sanaa was another new place for us, still canot believe it took us this long to get there but we will be back. This has gone to the top of our must dos. It was a favorite for all of us.

Another new try was the Wave, wonderful atmosphere and we all enjoyed our meals, my only wish was that we had not been so full so we could have tried some of the desserts which all sounded heavenly.

Our only dissappointment was Tutto Italia, and not because of the food because it was delicious. The service really just ruined it for us, I have to give a thumbs up to the manager who was wonderful with Angel and her allergies but the servers left us not happy so this will be off the list at least for a trip or two, there are many other places we love at Epcot that we will head back too or new places to try.

The Coral Reef was delicious as always, and we had tons of fun at Chef Mickey's and 1900 PF - those are favorites that will always fit into the list somehow.

The weather was great, we had our showers but it did not take away from our fun. Getting to met up with my co-worker who has been such a great benefactor and really helped pave the way towards us becoming DVC was so nice. Loved getting to meet his dad and the girls were happy to thank him for all he has done for us.

I was glad that I was able to have my sister share in Angel's birthday, I know Angel was glad to have some time with her cousin.

Angel loved getting to be at WDW on her actual birthday, not celebrating a few weeks later. She had some highlights she wanted to share - the first being that she loved being surprised and that it was even better coming from Izzy. She loved that her friend got to be part of the surprise.

Another highlight for her was her EE marathon....she loved that she is "old" enough now to enjoy the SRL and I think the best part of it for her was talking to all her ride partners during those single rides....much give thanks to those ride partners as well for dealing with her non-stop talking which I am sure they will never forget

She loved getting to see her friend Caliegh as usually they don't get to see each other during the summer as she travels so getting to spend some time with her at WDW brought a smile to her face.

Last but definitely not least was her time with Mary Devall...which she still talks about all the time (and reminds me that it must happen again for her next birthday). When I got to meet up with Jill in the city in the Spring Angel was very upset that I got to meet them without her, I kept telling her one day we would all get to meet up so when Jill Pmed me....I knew that this would be such a great surprise for her and it was. They hit it off so well and the fact that they could both talk a mile a minute while at the same time listening to everything the other was saying...they definitely have a gift

I have to say that getting to spend some more time with Jill was a highlight for me as well, I enjoy her conversation very much and I was so glad that we got to get the girls together and enjoy seeing them have such a good time (and a big thank you to Jill for being the ride queen of the trip and handling that ToT marathon with them...I and my neck thanks you).

I think the best part of the trip was seeing Angel so surprised and Jasmine being such a big part of the planning. Seeing Angel get all teary and shocked when Izzy told her we were going to Disney will forever be such a special memory for me (of course now she wants to be surprised on every trip...lol)

Angel...well Angel has always been my Disney lover, there is nothing that can ruin a trip for her, she just sees those gates and the smile never leaves her lips. Jasmine, lover of all things Disney did not come easy. I think for her she started going at a later age, after waiting so long as a little kid to go I think she felt she missed the magic. The were those wonderful "Teen" years when nothing could make her smile. On her sweet 16 trip there were more smiles but it was still under wraps, guess she did not want to give up Kenny's nickname for her of Mona Lisa but on last years trip she was a different person, she tried new things, she smiled...all the time. She came home excited about the next one, she finally found her magic, it might not have been the one she dreamed about when she was little but she found it.

This past trip...she had fun, she loves taking photography, she loved meeting Jill and Mary Devall (her words...I can so hang out with that girl, she is just too cute), she had fun with her sister but most of all she came back happy and all the more a Disney person (yes she now includes herself in that statement) and that the magic lingers for her more and more....the other day she came home from work at Barnes & Nobles all excited because she made her 1st purchase using her employee discount...what was it you ask? The CD/Blueray copy of Winnie the Pooh - and she curled up with her sister and watched it laughing the whole time. Yes I think the bug finally caught up with her.

So to wrap up another trip...we lived, we learned and I can't wait to do it all again. Spending time with my girls is precious and seeing them happy and smiling - well there is nothing better than that.

[Dlandmom2]

Great wrap up! Thanks for sharing!