Chapter 5: The Circle of Life (and Dreams) About This Page:

[chezp]

Now that is cool!

I cannot wait to see you on 9 December... Are we going to see you afterwards or do you have to dash off?

[graygables]

Originally Posted by chezp

Now that is cool!

I cannot wait to see you on 9 December... Are we going to see you afterwards or do you have to dash off?

I will have to go turn in my robes and then I'm freeeeeeeee until about 1030pm, so YES, I'd LOVE to meet up with you afterward! Just name a place/time and I'll be there!

[chezp]

Originally Posted by graygables

I will have to go turn in my robes and then I'm freeeeeeeee until about 1030pm, so YES, I'd LOVE to meet up with you afterward! Just name a place/time and I'll be there!

I'll PM you....

[KMB733]

Hope you had a great time being a guest at Candlelight last night!

[Grammy Grumpy]

I am so glad we got to see you in the Candlelight Processional last year but bummed that we have yet to meet face to face! Missed you then and missed you this year when we were at AKLV. I just completed my survey of our stay there and gave everything very nice ratings and comments. We will be staying there again I pray!

Love your holiday decorations and I can "hear" in your comments how much you love your home and are so getting settled in. Congrats on the continued success on your GF cooking and baking. When and if you get a chance could you share some of your recipes and secrets?

Have fun with your upcoming PPer meets! Wish we were there too!

[ilovedisney0_0]

Dang it! We wanted to see NPH so badly last year, but then it was switched to Geena Davis. She was wonderful, of course. But did you just love NPH??

[jjj6689]

I won't make it to WDW , but thought of you as I watched this

Candlelight Processional 2012 - Full Show - YouTube

Glad you get to spend Christmas in your new house.

[skateycat]

thanks for that link, nellie...wow. just wow. can't wait to see gray in all her finery on dec. 9th!

[trixiedixie]

our candlelight time is different. Ugh.

Congratulations on a magnificent home. May it always be a place of joy and laughter.

[graygables]

OK, so after the migraine lifts...I can think again!

The Osborne Lights were spectacular as always, but VERY busy, so DDs didn't want to stay long. We did get to hear the new music medley and it was beautiful, so that was good. We tried to get dinner at Mama Melrose's (I had tried online earlier in the day, but never could click through to confirm), but that was a no-go. We went into the Christmas shop that's right there and DDs (and I) found some ornaments they liked, so we made that purchase and moved on, debating where to eat dinner. We went to the GR booth and finally settled on Sanaa, as it was available. We usually LOVE Sanaa, but that night was an exception. Service was less than stellar, we went without drink refills for the entire meal (I finally flagged down someone else while we were waiting for dessert, and, yes, I had asked OUR server at least 3 times). The food was also unpleasantly spicy this time, even our usual favorites. I think we just hit on an off night.

Thursday, we did some work around the house, then headed out for our Candlelight "Linner" package (4:30 dining) at Garden Grill. We haven't eaten there in FORever as it was always "meh" to us, but I didn't want to do Biergarten gluten-free, so that's where we went. If you are looking for a GF character meal, I will highly recommend Garden Grill. I couldn't have the regular rolls (they had GF ones), stuffing, the sauce for the beef, or the cake dessert, but there were several options to that, I hit the brakes when I heard "creme brulee". Why, yes, thank you. The food was very fresh, very tasty, and I ate the fish all by myself. The characters were just attentive enough, but clearly saw we weren't there for autographs or photos, so did just a brief stop and moved on. It was very nice.

We wandered to the WS, then into Mitsukoshi for the requisite shopping (origami paper, Christmas lucky cats/owls) then lined up for Candlelight. We got there very early, so we were probably within the first 100. We scored center seats in the first uncovered row (closer is too close, IMHO). Neil Patrick Harris was fantastic. We don't watch his show or even know much about him beyond a few episodes of "Doogie" that we've watched, but he did a wonderful job. He balanced the right tones of serious with a touch of humor and it was lovely. I am very glad we chose his narration night as our family watch-from-the-audience night.

BTW, if you haven't seen these, they are super-fun and worth checking out:

New Real Estate in New Fantasyland - YouTube

Monsters University

[KMB733]

Sorry that your dinner at Sanaa was less than stellar. Hope you're right and just caught it on an off night. Sounds like you had a wonderful time at Candlelight. Thanks for the links. I saw the House Hunters one yesterday, but haven't seen the Monsters University one. It's too cute!!

[sc507]

I love, love, love NPH and am very jealous you got to see him . Glad you had a nice family evening.

[Beautiful Mother]

Sounds like a wonderful evening.

[chezp]

Sorry about Sanaa. I hope it was just an off night, as we'll be there a week on Friday. I can't wait to see the Osborne Lights and of course the Candlelight Processional. By the way, there is a PM to you about where we're going to meet you after your performance on Sunday and I have quite a few PassPorters waiting to hear the details from me...

[katydid]

What cute links!

Don't count out Biergarten for gluten free dining. There are plenty of delicious things on the cold buffet that are GF. By the time I finished with those things, the chef had prepared a huge plate of hot dishes just for me. It was one of my favorite dining experiences on my last trip.