Cam's Golden Birthday Adventure **Updated 8/23** COMPLETE About This Page:

[KathleenAnn]

Wonderful update. Happy belated birthday! Sounds like you all had a great time at 1900 Park Fare. I just love the last photo of Stephanie with Prince Charming. The way he is looking at her - the way he is holding her hand - and the way she is looking at the camera! A priceless photo! Enjoying your trip report. Sounds like you truly had a magical vacation and I can't wait to read more.

[Luvsun]

Oh, your time at 1900 Park Fare sounds wonderful! You really do look like a princess in your tiara! The pictures of Stefanie with each of the characters are adorable! Especially Prince Charming!
I have only eaten there at the breakfast buffet and the characters are different.
I have never met Anastasia or Drizella or Prince Charming.....I need to try going to dinner there the next time!
Now - you didn't say how the food was. Anything stick out that was exceptionally delicious at this buffet?

[lindawdw]

Sounds like you had a wonderful evening! The 1900 Park Faire looked great as the characters seemed really into their roles. Stefanie sure had a lot of energy at the MK and you were able to get on a lot of rides.

[luvnwdwgal]

What a fun evening! Hurry back with more!

[KandJluvdisney]

great update cam
sound like a yummy dinner at 1900 park fare
what a great night at mk
hurry back with more please

[clio]

You guys had a great time that night. Your dinner sounds really nice.
Liz

[lauren-roxy]

I am finally all caught up after my own vacation and what a wonderful time you guys have been having!!! I love your photos and I really like the one with Stefanie and Simba!! Sounds like you have really had some great meals, especially on your birthday!! I have to agree Cam, that you do not look 50 at all!!!

[MontiMouse]

What a great evening! I can't wait to hear more so hurry back with another update...

[Cam22]

Originally Posted by Luvsun

Now - you didn't say how the food was. Anything stick out that was exceptionally delicious at this buffet?

I actually tried to remember if anything stuck out in my memory as I did the report for this restaurant and all I could remember is that Luke and I both found it different from previous trips. Not in a bad way, but not the same. The buffet items were sectioned off by what country the recipes were from. I remember France and Spain, and maybe Italy, but I didn't write them down so now the memory is very foggy. I do remember enjoying everything I ate; I just don't remember what that was. I wish was more like Claudine. I her descriptions of foods, but I can never think of the right words myself.

[KimM]

We have always found Friday the 13th to be lucky...we got married on a Friday the 13th! But I'm curious about your final words...don't keep us waiting too long!

[piratefreak]

What a great evening. Love the character interaction at 1900. Sounds liek you accomplished quite a bit at MK before exhaustion set in. Hurry back!

[lukeandbrookesmom]

Just catching up - finished Day 3. I the Ohana pictures - especially the one of "Batman" and Stephanie waiting in the lobby!

[Cam22]

So what did happen on Friday the 13th? What adventures do the pool and Epcot hold for us tomorrow?

Day 7 – Saturday, June 14 – Wilderness Lodge Pool and Epcot

As I had for the past several days, I woke up at 9:00 and there was no going back to sleep. I quietly got up as I was doing much better at not disturbing Luke and Stefanie, who were definitely still sound asleep. I decided this was a good time to do a couple more loads of laundry and to download more pictures from the camera. Around 10:30 I could tell my sleeping beauties were close to waking up, so I got my bathing suit on and finished up with the laundry.

As we started out the door, Luke reminded me that my cell phone had needed to be charged. I flitted over to my new super cool backpack, opened the cell phone pocket, and discovered that my cell phone was no longer there. The three of us quickly searched the room, but I knew that it had fallen out at some unknown time yesterday. My phone is a very thin Sony Ericcson slider and the pocket was a bit roomy for it. Luke and I had both thought at different times on Friday that it looked possible for the phone to escape, but neither of us had really worried about it. Too bad hindsight, rather than foresight, told us we should have made a change. So Friday the 13th had had bad luck. Luke called my number to see if someone might answer and return it, but it went automatically to voicemail (a good indication that it had shut down). So on the way to the pool, I retraced our steps from last night back to the dock, but didn’t find the phone. Luke and Stefanie went to concierge to ask if anyone had turned in a phone. We met in the lobby without any luck. Concierge gave Luke a number to call for Lost and Found. But we decided not to let it spoil our fun.

By 11:00 we were poolside. Stefanie immediately noticed a hairwrap station, something she had done in previous years until bitten by the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique bug. She had told us throughout the winter that she would rather have a hairwrap this year as it always lasted much longer. So she drug me over to the kiosk and we looked over colors and beads while the cast member worked on another young girl. When she finished, she told us there were two other girls in front of us, but it would only be about 45 – 50 minutes before Stefanie’s turn came up. We were planning to stay at the pool until we needed to get ready for dinner, so that would not be a problem.

With the appointment set up, Stefanie was now ready to join her Daddy in the pool. The water here is always so much warmer than the water at the pool we belong to here in Owensboro. Honestly, the water here never gets above 50 degrees and I have to be boiling to want to get in. Now some of you may not like the Florida pool water as I’ve often heard it described as bath water, but I love it. We played around for about 40 minutes when we realized we were all hungry. Luke and Stefanie lounged in the two chairs we had managed to snag, and I dried off to make the trip inside to Roaring Forks.

Luke and I split a bacon cheeseburger with fries, and Stefanie had the kid’s chicken nuggets again. She could probably eat chicken nuggets or tenders ever day of the year. After lunch, we still had some time to play in the pool before Stefanie’s time for a hairwrap. I didn’t stay in as long this time as I wanted to do a little reading. Soon after Stefanie got out, and asked if we could look over the colored threads again. She selected three colors and found a dolphin bead and frog charm that she definitely wanted. Not long after making her choices, it was finally time for her hairwrap.

Cast member Lorrie was very friendly and took some time with Stefanie to make her color choices coordinate a little better as she actually got to choose four colors, rather than just three. Lorrie moved her stool back into the shade and began to quickly weave the threads into bands with Stefanie’s hair locked inside. When Lorrie learned that Stefanie was actually 22, she became curious about Stef’s situation. I always enjoy retelling the miracle that is my little pixie. I thought Lorrie was very gentle, but Stefanie who really doesn’t even like me to brush her hair, hollered ouch a couple of times, causing Lorrie to worry that she was hurting her. When Lorrie finished, she even made Stefanie a bracelet to match from the left over thread. Stefanie was beaming! Lorrie whispered in my ear that since Stefanie had seemed uncomfortable, she hadn’t made the wrap as tight as she normally did. So she had decided to charge us only for the beads and charm, and not for her labor. I told her that was unnecessary, but she insisted, and Stefanie got a real deal on a hairwrap.

By this time I was ready to read some more and we were all thirsty. Luke and Stefanie went to Trout Pass to get us all a soda. Not long after we finished our drinks, we were ready to head back indoors as the heat had gotten to me and Luke’s shoulders were burning. By the way I forgot to take a camera to the pool, so I don’t have any shots of Stefanie getting that all important hairwrap.

While I showered and Stefanie took a bath, Luke called Lost and Found, still no luck, and he also got on line and deactivated my phone in case someone less than honest had found it. We cleaned up in record time so we decided we could spare a few minutes to stop at the gift shop to see if our packages from DTD had been delivered. At the register I handed my forms to the cast member, who appeared to be a manager. He looked at my receipt and replied, “Oh, I know that package.” It was huge! Within a couple of minutes he had drug our bag from the back and wished us luck in getting it to the room. We also picked up two more two liters and another box of Pop Tarts and then hauled all our goodies back to the room.

Luke felt it was necessary to get a picture of me, squealing with excitement as I got the big bag to the room. It was like Christmas!



I have to say it does resemble Santa’s sack full of toys.

Of course, Stefanie and I wanted to drag everything out right away, but there simply was not time if we were to make our Teppan Edo ADR on time.
So we headed to the bus stops pronto. About 15 minutes later an Epcot bus arrived and we were off on a new adventure. Stefanie had never eaten at a Japanese steakhouse and we tried to prepare her for the experience on the bus ride over.



I was hoping to get a PhotoPass shot in front of Spaceship Earth before we began the trek through Future World to World Showcase to Japan. We caught the photographer at a slow time, and she must have been bored because she gave us a full photo shoot. In fact, we began to wonder if we might be late to dinner. In the end, I really like several of the shots she got.



Once free from the photographer, we picked up our pace, hoping not to be late to Teppan Edo. We actually made it from the front of the park to Japan in just under 15 minutes. Not bad, especially with Stefanie’s short legs.



At Teppan Edo, we had a short wait in the lobby before our pager went off and we were greeted by cast member Yumi who escorted us to our table. Yumi quickly explained that the grill was exceptionally hot, and we should not ever touch it. Stefanie’s eyes grew big as she saw the grill right in front of her. She took our drink orders, leaving us to decide on our entrees. I knew as soon as I looked at the kid’s choices which Stefanie would select. She has loved shrimp since she was a very little girl. So she ordered Ebi (shrimp), I got the filet mignon and shrimp dinner, while Luke ordered the chicken and shrimp dinner. We didn’t leave room for dessert as the portions here are very generous with noodles, rice, and fried veggies accompanying the meat choices. Chef Tomo was very entertaining and kept Stefanie attentive to his every word and move. Teppan Edo is now a family favorite and if not a must-do every trip, at least every other trip. Stefanie still asks if we can go back to the restaurant where they cooked the food right in front of us.

We noticed on our return to the outdoors that there is an attraction in Japan called Tin Toy Stories, something we had never noticed before. We entered a small museum that traces the history of tin toys, including many that are Disney. Though very small it was fascinating.

At this point we decided to first walk toward France as we had only made it through the United Kingdom on Tuesday. We checked for the Genie, Aladdin, and Jasmine in Morocco, but didn’t find them. So we moved on to France. Last year we had finally gotten around to seeing Impressions de France and had found it enjoyable. A show was starting in about 10 minutes, so we moved inside to some air conditioning to wait. I still like this show, but after seeing the improvements that have been made to O Canada, I wish that France would update their movie as well. When the movie was over, the dessert munchies hit. So when in France do as the French and have a chocolate crepe. Luke had swirl ice cream in a waffle cone and Stefanie just wanted another Coke.

We now moved back toward Japan headed to the lands we had walked quickly through earlier in the evening. I was hoping to catch a showing of The American Adventure, but the next show was about half an hour later. Luke and Stefanie didn’t seem to want to wait, so we kept moving. We checked out the shops in Italian and glanced over the menu at the new Italian restaurant Tutto Italia, which I think I want to try next summer. We always stop in Germany to check out the model trains as Luke has one of his own. Stefanie suddenly felt she needed another pin for her lanyard. She found a really cute Goofy pin at Village Trader’s while I looked at the carved giraffes. I don’t remember doing anything in China, but we always check out the shops in Norway. I love the sweaters here, but have never wanted to spend that much money. They are gorgeous. Luke and I also really like all the Helly Hansen gear. Then we look over the trolls. The big troll has been moved to create a better traffic flow and I think it works. Several years ago, we found Geir cologne for Luke, which we both love, so every year since I pick up a new bottle for him. Last year I purchased Geir Laila for me, but I still had plenty, so need to buy me more. The Puffin Roost is a definite must shop for us each year. While in Norway, we always ride Maelstrom. I know some of us consider it lame, but I really do like this one minus the movie. By the way the movie was not running when we were there, and I’m hoping that Norway has decided to update this one. We decided to skip Mexico for this evening as we’d be back later to eat at San Angel Inn. Stefanie and I also really wanted to get into that big bag of goodies that awaited us back in the room.

But as we got near Mouse Ears, Luke actually mentioned that he wanted to check on a few toys that he hadn’t been able to find at World of Disney, but remembered having seen here. I was hoping to find the Mickey Body Part measuring cups here, too. Luke got lucky, but I didn’t find the measuring cups. Luke also found a Wall-E pin and an Eve pin to add to our lanyard. It was now just a little past 9:00, but we decided that was enough fun for one day.

Once back at the room, Stefanie and I tore into the bag, pulling out every single purchase and oohing and aahing over all the goodies. Then we carefully packed them away for the trip home. Luke may have been watching another of the NBA championship games, but I don’t remember. Around 11:00 I set the alarm clock for 8:00 as we had reservations for the House of Blues Gospel Brunch as a Father’s Day treat for Luke. Then it was goodnight Disney!

What exactly was our bus driver thinking and where was she going?

[mousestruck]

Oh what a great day... except for the little phone incident. I'm sorry you lost your phone, but so glad you were able to let it go and avoid it spoiling your day. Glad you all enjoyed Teppan Edo! That has become a new family fav for us as well. Those Epcot pics are beautiful!!!

[B.M.]

Sorry about the phone, but what a great day! I know exactly what you mean about the pool temerature. Our pool at home is always FREEZING and I also have to be dripping sweat before getting in. But I love WDW pools- I like the fact that they are warmer.
Glad everyone enjoyed Teppan Edo- it was one of our family favorites as well. And the shrimp is also my favorite. I dont know how you pronounce the waitresses name (Yumi) but I read it and think of it as "yummy" and thats funny to me because Teppan Edo is Yummy!