You can find me in da Beach Club -- COMPLETE!! Final Thoughts UPDATE 7/1 About This Page:

[clio]

Another great update, Karen. I really enjoy your style of writing. You had me laughing. Luckly I didn't get any tea on my new laptop.
Liz

[pparm]

The food at Spoodles looks great! Maybe we'll have to give it a try!

Paula

[coastgirl]

My kid has a bad gag reflex and the municipal pool once had to be cleared after he coughed himself silly and...well, you can fill in the details. Yikes! I'll bet the parents were slinking away...

Loving your TR Karen. We should've been stalking your dining reservations!

[Nala]

Boy, do I have something to look forward to when we hit SAB! Thanks for the heads up on the code word "accident".

The food at Spoodles looks wonderful. May have to add that one to our new places to try list.

Great update.

[mattnkatsmum]

SUNDAY 28th January

I awoke depressingly early again, but at least it gave me a chance to do a bit of work. We were off to MK this morning, but as there were no Extra Magic Hours we had a little more time.

We left Villa 250 and made our way along the ‘this way / that way corridor’. Just as we were trying to fathom which way to head I heard my name called. Right behind us was Beth (Mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince) with her son, Christian. We had a nice chat on the way to the car park – having first headed the wrong way, I do recall – before we headed off to the MK and Beth for her milk. It was great to meet a fellow PassPorter and I spent a good proportion of the morning with that warm fuzzy feeling that I think I’ll call the PassPorter Glow. If you’ve had the fortune to meet other PassPorters, I’m sure you’ll know precisely what I mean.

We were early for opening time, and so were able to witness the opening ceremony.



‘Good morning! Good morning! We’ve danced the whole night through. Good morning! Good morning to you’

Obviously they weren’t suffering from jet lag then.

‘Casey Jones is coming down the track, la la la la la, la la la la la’. I don’t know the rest of the words.



I LOVE the opening ceremony; it’s real, bonhomie, happy place stuff. Kat loves it too. I would love for us to be Family of the Day. Unfortunately, none of my best efforts (get there early, tell Kat to look cute, and generally jump around stating loudly how much we love Disney) have resulted in any success.

If you’ll allow me to digress a little, this is a good place to mention how singularly unimpressed I was with the so-called ‘Year of a Million Dreams’. Despite the fact that the dreams giveaway was heavily promoted – even my three year old was asking when she would receive a dream – we never saw a single dream granter throughout the trip. Not one. Surely, they could hand out something inconsequential and of negligible cost (say a special sticker) a bit more freely. This is only a teeny whinge because just being at Disney is the stuff of dreams, it’s just that with all the hoop la, Disney could have done a bit more.

Kat and I were both on a mission. Kat’s was to ride Dumbo; mine, to experience French Toast Loaf from the Main Street Bakery.

Here is my delight.



And the verdict? It tasted nice enough, but it would have FED THE FIVE THOUSAND. How on earth does anyone eat like this and stay slim? I resolved to eat a quarter and share the rest with Steve and Kat, but somehow the entire French Toast Loaf and my stomach became acquainted along the way to Fantasyland.

Eleventy billion Weight Watchers points later I caught up with Steve and Kat.



We all decided to take in Mickey’s Philarmagic next. It’s one of my favourites.

Before heading to Liberty Square and the Haunted Mansion.



Hmmm. I overdid the bronzing powder that morning.

Having been suitably spooked, Daredevil Kat decided that it was time for some thrills. She’d been a little intimidated by Splash Mountain on our last trip, but wanted to ride, so we wandered through Frontierland, meeting up with Brer Fox along the way.



Now, I haven’t said anything about the temperature, but it wasn’t warm. I was glad that I remembered my Girl Guide training at this point. I confess that I wasn’t a successful Girl Guide- I never quite got the hang of surviving for a month with two sticks and a can of baked beans – but I did remember the motto. Be prepared. And the preparation for this day consisted of PACKING PONCHOS.



I don’t care if we looked ridiculously silly. It was cold. We were dry. Everyone else was soaking.

Needless to say, Kat loved Splash Mountain.

I was keen to experience attractions we hadn’t seen on our last couple of trips so we headed over to the Tiki Rooms. We’ve not missed much, have we?

Continued…..

[mattnkatsmum]

By now the French Toast Loaf was all but a memory, so we decided to have lunch at my favourite MK eatery – Colombia Harbour House.

We had:


Anchors Aweigh Sandwich - white tuna with lettuce and tomato.



I love this sandwich. I’m not even a fan of tuna, but this is yummy. And even though it’s drowned in mayo, still felt virtuous compared to the aforementioned breakfast.


Captain's Special - Fried Chicken Strips and Fish - Served with choice of French Fries or Carrots




Steve and Kat shared this and reported that it was really good. I’d love to know if anyone has actually ordered fried fish with a side order of,,…….CARROTS. Come on. Give me a break.


Chocolate Cake - Apple Crisp




I’m sure the majority of these desserts end up in the bin as unwanted dining plan credits. I know ours did.


After lunch we stumbled across the new Mickey Dream Show, or whatever it’s called, outside the castle. This is really rather enjoyable, much better than it’s predecessor, Cinderellabration.






Goofy’s Barnstormer was calling Kat, so Toontown was our next destination.


We got the ubiquitous photo near the castle.




Before meeting Chicken Little and some other random bird.


Continued.......

[mattnkatsmum]

Despite the fact that WDW was exceptionally quiet, Saturday afternoon was still, predictably, quite busy. There was a thirty-minute wait for Barnstormer but there wasn’t an ice cream’s chance in a bonfire that I was going to dissuade Kat from her favourite ride.





Kat then decided that a trip around Minnie’s House was in order. It was so busy that everyone was walking slowly in single file around the place. Of course, everyone in line wanted to take photos so the wait was seemingly endless. Of course, I didn’t waste the opportunity to add to the mayhem by taking a few photos of my own.



I’ll only post the one. I must have been exceptionally bored, as I have taken photos of Minnie’s notice board. And cookie jar.

*Tip * If you don’t like queuing, don’t go to MK on a Saturday afternoon. Even in the quietest season.

Kat declared that she simply had to meet the princesses but at this point I had a Gloria Gaynor / Barbra Streisand moment (Enough is Enough) and dragged Kat back to the BCV for some Stormalong Bay time. Poop permitting.

[Colexis Mom]

Fantastic update Karen I'm glad you enjoyed the french toast loaf, as well as the tuna sandwich Didn't you know, there are no calories or points at WDW as it's vacation, so eat to your heart's (or stomach's) content! Sounds like a great day so far......I hope there are no surprises in the pool

[simbarel]

You didn't over-bronze, that was your Passporter Glow! I know, because I give it to people down there all the time. HA! I'm joking, of course. (Kinda.) Ha! Joked again. I do love running into PPs, most of the time you feel like you've known them forever.

The Good Morning dancers surely are NOT suffering from jet lag : and we love them for the same reason you do---they're so over-the-top squeaky clean and happy, how could you not love them, it makes for a great start to the day.

You're not the first person I've read complain about the lack of YOMD festivities during the whole trip. I think we might have even been there during its first few weeks but I'm not even sure because we never saw a peep. Shame. I'm sure you've worked off that loaf by now, thanks for the update!

[lauren-roxy]

Fabulous update Karen!!! I loved your photos!! Your food looked so yummy, my husband is a big fan of the tuna sandwich!! Can't wait for more!!!

[mom2mudmonsters]

I felt the same way about the dream campaign when dh and I were there in October. I know that it just started, but we saw nothing but signs promising us dreams. But...then again...we were at Disney without our kids, so I guess our dream HAD come true!!!

Another great update...can't wait for more!

[Tiggerbelle]

Your TR never fails to crack me up!! No worries about the french toast loaf - I'm sure you walked more than enough to make up for it! I can't wait to hear more (poop permitting, of course!!)

[jimmymac]

Another great update. Love the pix. Can't wait for the next chapter

[chezp]

Great update Karen - I know what you mean about the PassPorter Glow and that's a great name for it!

[ilovedisney0_0]

That french toast loaf looks huge! This is such a fun TR. Kat is looking more and more like her Daddy, each time we see her. She is so adorable! And you made me laugh with your obligatory pic on the Barnstormer. All of us moms seem to have one of those!