My MIL is a die-hard breakfast person. She decided that breakfast was a must for our itinerary. Today is Animal Kingdom so I thought, "Let's try Rainforest Cafe".
My MIL also made an executive decision...if the teens don't want to do something, that's okay. The rest of us will. So when morning came, she thought some would opt out of breakfast and Animal Kingdom. Wrong! The teens were so excited to get to AK! They had their itinerary which basically gave the description of Rainforest Cafe, the description of AK and some Great Things To Do tips. They were so excited to try Kali River Rapids and Kilimanjaro Safaris.
So everyone was up and ready to head to AK. DD was to meet us at the resort, but she was running late so DH and I hung around for her while the others went to take a bus to AK. DD finally showed up and we decided to drive over instead of waiting for Dtransportation. We ended up making it to AK before the rest of them! MIL said the bus just never came.
There is a rather long line to get through with bag check, so those of us bagless went in to get a table for breakfast. By the time the rest were through, we were ready to be seated. While walking up to Rainforest, DD is giving me a hard time. "Are you sure they serve breakfast? I never knew RC served breakfast. Are you sure, you're right?" How come 23 year olds can revert back to be a 15 year old? I just say, "If they don't serve breakfast, then why are they giving us a table at 8:30 am?"
We walk into the restaurant and it's about 90% empty. Apparently DD isn't the only one who doesn't know they serve breakfast. The hostess begins to seat us. She points to a table at one end of the room and says 6 there and points to a table at the other end and says 4 there. I look at her in disbelief. I say, "You are not busy, you do not have a line of people waiting...why can't we have 2 tables close together?". That's all we have available. I point out the rest of the room to her. She rolls her eyes and goes to talk to the guy making seat arrangements. She returns and says if you want to wait we'll see what we can do. Ten minutes later, only one other party had entered the restaurant and was seated. MIL was ready to give in just when they finally seated us together. As I write this, I still do not understand the childish attitude that "if you don't sit where we want you to sit, then you will wait til hell freezes over".
We didn't let them ruin our good attitude of the morning though. While waiting the teens were looking all over RC. This was, after all, their first trip there. They loved the fish in the water and of course the gift shop! After we were seated, a CM had put on a wet suit and was swimming through the water tubes with the fishes. The teens thought for sure he was going to get caught up in the small tubes. The 2 girls disappeared after ordering and soon were back with new RC long-sleeved shirts on. They were cold and found these really cute shirts to buy.
It took forever to get our food. The restaurant still had seated maybe 2 other families since we arrived. They were not overbooked, they were not understaffed because the CMs were all talking in groups around the place. I don't know the problem, but hope they fix whatever it is. It was just too dead quiet for RC even if it was breakfast. It was a long breakfast because of service and most guests don't want to waste that much time to eat.
We finally finished and went to pay the bill. DD put her cm id in with the cc and when all was said and done, she saved us $30 for breakfast.
We were going to split up when DD said, "I have to leave for work soon. Can all of us ride Dinosaurs together?". The teens didn't have a problem with it. MIL freaks out, "Is it a rollercoaster?" LOL! DD assured her it wasn't. Then MIL asks, "Is it scary?" DD says, no not at all.
On the way to Dinosaur, we stopped at Flaming Tree BBQ to purchase the AK vouchers for the teens lunch. DD was standing beside me when I ordered 6 of them and she got this look on her face. She said to the CM, do you give a cast member discount? The CM smiled and said yes we do. DD saved us over $15. That makes $45 savings so far today. How can I get one of those IDs?!
Off to Dinosaur! We wait in line about 20-25 minutes to get on the ride. DH is a joker and enjoys picking on his own 2 sons in line. He extended his normal routine and picked on the other teens too. They loved it. 2 of them have spent most of their childhood without a father figure and enjoy the fatherly kidding around. By the time this trip is over, DH has his own bonding with the teens -- the boys especially looking up to him. At one pointin line you can choose which line to get into. The teens didn't realize that meant we would be split up so DD's trying to grab them so that we can all be together, but by the time that happens, we are broken up in the same line. There was a really nice family who saw our problem and they let the teens back in.
We rode Dinosaur and have a perfect picture as a reminder! It was so funny to see MIL's expression on it. She thought it was scary! The girls were screaming and hid their faces. The boys were eyes glued to the dinosaur and having a blast.
While we were buying the picture, the teens went off on their own to ride Kali River Rapids. MIL was in no way doing that ride and DH hates water rides. DD decided she had just enough time to see Lion King with us...if we could get into the next show that started in 15 minutes. So we grab MIL and hike to Camp Mickey and Minnie. We make it as they are about to close the door. We get excellent seats - against the wall right under the AV guys. MIL is seeing this for the first time and is loving every moment. DH falls asleep!
How could anyone fall asleep during LK!!! As we're leaving LK, MIL looks at the itinerary and sees that I had suggested Tarzan Rocks as a Great Thing to Do and so she says why don't we head there. DD doesn't have any time left and has to get back to the resort for her car and to change for work. DH agrees to take her back and MIL and I trek off to Tarzan Rocks.
We make it just as the show is beginning. We are standing in the back when a CM says, do you want seats? I don't but I know MIL could use one so I say sure. She leads us down to the front section, back row! It was a perfect spot for MIL to see the show for the first time. The monkeys were rolling right by us! She fell in love with another one of my favorite shows. She really enjoyed Tarzan! LOL! I told her for awhile they had a guy who wore a fake chest. She said, "This one sure doesn't need a fake one!" LOL!
We meet up with the teens and find out they did Kali - got soaked and saw the Tree of Life and took pictures and went into It's Tought to be a Bug. Now it was Kilimanjaro time. They love it! We then head for the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. MIL and the teens thought it was rather funny how I hated the bats! They enjoyed teasing me the rest of the day! MIL wanted to keep the laminated guidemap as a souvenier, but she graciously put it back when it was time.
The teens are already hungry. MIL and I are just thirsty. Some wanted pizza and others BBQ. The pizza teens head off and decide to join the rest of us down by the pond at the BBQ place. It is always a very relaxing, cool place to eat. And for the last several trips, it's been fun watching them build the new coaster. Today we watched them laying tracks. It looks like a fun ride. While eating, DH arrives back. DD had him on a pin hunt, especially some LE surprise pins were released and she just had to have them! He says he isn't hungry, but he steals bites of pizza from
DS#2 and a rib from DS#1. The teens and I enjoy some quality talking time together. 2 of them have spent most of their life in Germany, their father was in the Air Force. The other 2 are city teens...very hard shells. We talked about smoking -- a topic we talk about a lot this trip! The 2 who smoked wondered why I was so against it. I just kept low keyed and mentioned their family health history. There is excessive cancer in the family and their grandfather and most recently very young aunt had died of cancer. It made them think hard for a few moments. It was a start. The 2 from Germany (now living in VA while dad is looking for a job) wanted to hear everything about Disney. We talked about my family's first trip to AK. It was especially interesting to them because it happened to be the trip we had brought my FIL, the year before he died. They loved hearing what PopPop did at AK and how he reacted to being in a wheelchair at Disney. It was a wonderful non-lunch for me. I'm so glad we sat with them while they ate!
The teens were now ready to shop a little and call it a day at AK. They saw the parade and headed off to their next destination...Disney Quest. This was to be a teen only night and the adults were going out to dinner. We hadn't decided where yet. We thought of DD's resort so we could eat with her, but she was getting off early so that was out. We wanted France, but no seatings for 5 (MIL, DH, me, DD, and her friend Beth). We tried LeCellier because MIL is after all Canadian, but no seatings for 5. We tried Rose 'n Crown, but forget that because of Illuminations. So we decided to just show up at LeCellier and see if they will seat us. But before dinner, it was nap time for MIL. So we head back to the resort while the teens head for DD.
DS#1 & #2 have the Premium AP for D-Quest. That left needing to buy 4 tickets for the other teens. DS#1 was able to get 2 tickets with his cm id for only $17 - total $34! DS#2 used his AP and got about $4 off per ticket for 2. So savings today now are at $86 just for tickets and food. I really do love those IDs!
Back at the resort, DH and I walk into a wonderful surprise (one I knew was to happen, but DH didn't have a clue!). A basket from Walt Disney World Florist had arrived and was waiting for us. DH's eyes widened and a grin came on his face. He loved it! It was a Cheer Basket (fruit and snacks) that I added 2 Disney wine glasses and some bubbly to. It was a perfect surprise!
After our downtime, we get together with MIL and head off for EPCOT. DD and Beth are on their way too. We end up arriving together. That's always nice -- not having to look for each other and do the cell phone thing.
We head to LeCellier when what to our wondering ears do we hear? Off Kilter! One of my Must Dos for this trip! DD looks into my eyes and rolls hers. "Go ahead Mom, I'll see if they can give us a table". Isn't she a great daughter! So DH, MIL and I head off to the toe-tapping music that we love. It is a wonderful show. The guys are so personable. They make you laugh so hard! The show isn't over yet, but Beth appears and says it's time to be seated. Oh well! Off we go, but smiling from the little we had seen!
We were seated and were so happy with our waitress, Jen from Alberta. She was very friendly and open to wisecracks from us. She even gave us a few of her own. It was such an enjoyable meal and she helped to make it that way! By the end of the night, she said she felt like a member of the family! She even picked up on our family inside jokes at DH and was picking on him as much as we were! It was so refreshing and so different from our breakfast of AK.
MIL and I had the salmon. Delicious! DD loves filet mignon and it was on the menu. When she saw it, her eyes turned into the 14 year old...mom, could I please, look. Of course I said yes. Beth didn't want much. She had soup and salad even though I tried to order her salmon because she loves it. DH had the strip steak and beef and barley soup. The rest of us had the Cheddar Soup. Everyone loved the pretzel sticks so we had to ask for more. Jen brought us tons of them! LOL!
Dinner was delicious. We heard Illuminations going on while we ate, but no one ran outside. We were having such a great time together. It was dessert time and Beth and I opted for the kid's dessert - Chocolate Moose. This is one of few Ddesserts I enjoy. MIL had creme brulee. DD ordered a special dessert for the night - Peach Cobbler. DH didn't want anything. When the desserts came, Beth didn't realize the Chocolate Mousse was really a Moose. She was laughing at the moose in front of her and then I pointed out that it was sticking it's tongue out at her. She loved it. DDs cobbler was huge! It was like a small pizza pie size!! She shared with everyone!
It was time for the bill. Earlier while we were getting to know Jen, she figured out DD was a CM because she lived in FL and we were from PA. So when it was time for the bill, she said to her...if you give me your ID I'll swipe it for you. Another savings! Cool! It ended up being $30 off and so our savings thanks to my CM children was $116 for the day! We headed out of the restaurant and lingered around while the crowds died down. We then called it a night. DH and I were being called by our romantic basket in the room. MIL wanted to go swimming. DD had to work the next day at 4 am. We arrived back at the resort and the girl teens were back from DQ already. They were ready to go swimming with Gram. The boy teens ended up closing the place! They ordered a pizza just as the food shop was closing up. They were the last ones out. LOL! They loved it so much and were making plans to return later in the trip. Not the girls. They had enough. The boy teens joined in swimming once they returned. And then everyone called it a night.
Today's Highlights:
*Dinosaur -- DH putting boys as tall as he is (six feet) into head locks!
*Festival of the Lion King --DH falling asleep!
*Tarzan Rocks -- MIL falling in love with Tarzan's chest!
*Romantic basket waiting for our return to the resort!
*Jen, our newest family member from LeCellier!
It is truly a magical gathering for us. We just look beyond the glitches and go with the flow. We are enjoying each other and building a stronger family along the way!