[libade]

Originally Posted by cinderbella

You were missing out by skipping the Rose and Crown Pub!!!! I LOVE that restarurant...where did you end up eating??

I think we ended up ordering pizza from a restaurant in the condo, which is a real shame since we had all that food available to us. We were trying to finish the countries and get back to China, but it just didn't happen.

This is the story of our vacations - we spend so much time trying to decide where to eat that we end up starving and getting a quick bite somewhere.

I still managed to gain 7 pounds during vacation - I cannot imagine how much I would have gained if I ate every time I WANTED to!!!

[queensmama]

Originally Posted by libade

I still managed to gain 7 pounds during vacation - I cannot imagine how much I would have gained if I ate every time I WANTED to!!!

I'm dreading seeing how much weight I put on after 8 days on teh dining plan.......

[libade]

I guess I need to finish up this trip report - it's been a month!

Thursday - We had to do a bunch of errands this morning - I hate to waste precious time on this stuff, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

We went to Pop Century to return a few borrowed items. OK - I admit it, I took the blow dryer and a blanket when we left. I didn't pack a blow dryer, and when I realized that MIL wouldn't have one for me to use, I took the one I requested from PC. The blanket was in the car - the girls always want to cover up with a blanket when the air conditioning is on, and sometimes they'll fall asleep when they're all cozy and snuggled in with a blanket. The girls knew it belonged to PC and they wanted to make sure it got back to the rightful owner. (They are so honest - I'm not sure where they get that from - must be DH) Anyhoo - I returned the 'borrowed' items and the girl at the front desk actually LAUGHED at me. I guess the Disney Police will not press charges.

We also went to Downtown Disney to get Devon the Jessie doll that she had decided she wanted so bad. We found the doll, and minutes later, I see her on the floor playing with Pal Mickey. Every time she saw Pal Mickey, she stopped to play with it, but she never asked if she could get it. It was more $ than she had, but it seemed that she really really wanted Pal Mickey and was just settling for Jesse. I mentioned it to DH and we agreed to help her out. I asked her if she would rather have Pal Mickey, she could get it, but that was it for her spending money. She agreed and was thrilled to get Pal Mickey - he came everywhere with us from then on. She never asked for another thing for the last few days we were there. I really think that giving kids an allotted amount of money for the entire week helps. I find that the girls really put thought into what they wanted to buy.

We ate lunch at a Chinese Buffet - It's the one that the Unofficial Guide recommends. It was very good and there seemed to be a lot of locals there, so that's usually a good sign!

We had free passes for WaterMania, so we decided to check it out. We could only stay for a few hours, but since it was FREE, we figured why not? I really enjoyed WM - it was pratically empty. DH took the girls on the slides and I waited at the bottom and took pictures. I'm not a big fan of waterslides - the lazy river is more my speed!

We left WM so DH could get back to Orange Lake for his tee time, and me and the girls hit the pool again. We hung out there for a few hours. We met some great people at the pool! We went back to the condo for dinner.

FRIDAY

We gave the girls the choice between WaterMania and Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach. The free passes were still good for Water Mania (I think we could have used them for 5 days). They chose WaterMania because they didn't get to ride everything they wanted to in the short visit the day before.

Watermania it is!!! We had a nice relaxing day there. We met a really nice family in the lazy river that used to live in New England. The kids hit it off really well, so we hung out together for a few hours.

We spent some time in the kid section and I was able to lounge around and read a magazine, while still keeping an eye on them. That's how empty this place is. I love Typhoon Lagoon, but it's not relaxing to me at all.

That night, we went to Arabian Nights. It was OK. I think at this point, we were all exhausted and would have enjoyed an early night relaxing at the condo. It was fun, but I don't think I would do it again.

SATURDAY
Our last day for Magic Kingdom. We decided on one last hurrah for MK. We tried so hard to get there for opening, but missed it again! I cannot get to the park for 9am - how do people get there for early PS's???

We decided to try to meet Ariel since we have NEVER EVER met her before. That line is INSANE, but at least we can finally say that we met her!!

We did the carousel, and Mickey's Philharmagic for the THIRD time! I love this attraction, but the Donald mishap didn't 'work' this time. We were looking at the back wall, but we couldn't see anything. It was too bad for the first timers because the kids liked that the best!!

Next, we did Dumbo. I tried to look over at the old 2,000 leagues area, but I couldn't see anything. Is this where people usually take photos from, or is it somewhere else?

DH was over at the bakery at Main St getting breakfast, so we met at Belle's Storytime. This is another attraction that we always tried to get to, but never did. We had good timing and got right in before it was too crowded. I loved this show - you must make time for this if you have little ones who love Belle! They pick quite a few kids to participate and it is so sweet!!!

Next, we met Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. They spent quite a bit of time stealing Pal Mickey from Devon, but she loved it!

We had an ice cream break, and then we hit the Indy Speedway.

We decided to go back to Fantasyland to finish up a few things there. We still hadn't done Peter Pan or the Pooh ride. This was the perfect time for Bailey's alter ego, MRS. SPITTER, to join us. I don't think anyone else thinks this is funny, but Bailey and I think it's hilarious!!!! MRS SPITTER, as you can imagine, tends to spit whenever she says anything that has a "P" in it. She had a blast telling us how much fun it would be to ride Peter Pan and Pooh in the honeyPots. OK - maybe you had to be there but it was really funny!!

We wanted to do Splash and Thunder Mountains one last time before we left. We get on Splash Mountain, and Bailey (she is back) decides that she doesn't like the drop. HELLO? You've been on it twice already, and never said a word. It was too late, so we had no choice - we did the drop and this time, we REALLY got soaked!!

It started to rain just as we were going to Thunder Mountain, so we decided to just head out of the park. We didn't want to wait in line and it get shut down, and we were planning on leaving anyway....

It quickly turned into a downpour, so we jumped on the train (with everybody else) and rode to the Main Street Station (with everybody else). I don't remember riding this leg of the train route before. We saw lots of stuff that I don't ever remember seeing. And we saw the burning log cabin that we saw from Tom Sawyers Island earlier in the week. (Someone else had posted about this too)

It took us about an hour to get out of the park (with everybody else). Once we got out, we begain our last adventure of our trip. I call this part, the HUNK OF BEEF ADVENTURE....

Whenever we are on vacation, DH starts hankering for a HUNK OF BEEF aka Prime Rib. He is determined to get this HUNK OF BEEF on his last day of vacation. We went to every steak place on I 192 in search of the HUNK OF BEEF. There is not one acceptable HUNK OF BEEF restaurant open yet. He doesn't really care for chains like Outback, but finally desperate for a HUNK OF BEEF - ANY HUNK OF BEEF, we go to Outback. It's NOT OPEN YET - ARRRRGGGGHHHHHHHH!

Now, I start reading every sign I see replacing words with BEEF. IHOP - the International Hunk of Beef. Ponderose BEEF house. China BEEF - get the picture? At least, I think I'm funny!

I got the Entertainment book out and find a restaurant in Orlando that has Prime Rib, so we start our journey to Orlando. We finally get to the restaurant, which promises an incredible salad bar that I'm now drooling for, and it's...say it with me, NOT OPEN YET.

This really is the story of our vacation. We spend so much time trying to find the perfect place to eat, and we end up starving and grumpy.

Now, it's 2 hours into our HUNK OF BEEF journey and we still do not have an acceptable HUNK OF BEEF restaurant. We decide to head back to I 192 - the places there will be open by the time we get there and we'll be closer to the condo, so we can get back to pack.

We get back to where we started and decide to try Key W. Cools. Now, we have spent the day in the park, and got drenched on Splash Mountain - we are not a pretty sight to see. What do you know, Key W. Cools is a FANCY place - sheesh.

We get seated upstairs all by ourselves (I'm telling you - we were NOT PRETTY) - they had just opened and the place was empty. Our waiter was wonderful - very personable - I liked him a lot. He was great with the kids too.

At first glance, I thought it was a fancy smancy place, but it's really not. The white tablecloths are covered with paper, so the kids (and us) could draw right on the table. I think this should be mandatory in every restaurant.
By the time we were done, every inch of the tablecloth was covered in our drawings. I asked the waiter if they ever analyze the art work - I wonder what they would find out about us????

So, we are FINALLY in the HUNK OF BEEF RESTAURANT of our choice, and guess what? They don't have prime rib! Poor DH - I think his vacation is ruined.

The girls got hot dogs, of course. What else would a kid get at a HUNK OF BEEF restaurant? I wanted to share the 32oz Porterhouse, but DH was determined to get his OWN HUNK OF BEEF and didn't want to share!!! He got the porterhouse and I got the filet. I can't remember how big it was - but it was a HUNK OF BEEF!!!!!

I thought it was pricey, but well worth it. Our bill came to $115 with the tip,
but it was an unbelievable amount of BEEF, and it was so good. The girls got some type of enourmous chocolate cake for dessert too.

So that's it for us....We went back to the condo and packed up everything we could. We got up extremely early to catch our 7am flight. We were back home by noon - unpacking already.....